Ichigo's Illness
by kisshuismylife
Summary: Ichigo gets sick, and Kisshu kidnaps her to take care of her, since her parents aren't home. I hope you all enjoy and review!
1. Collapse

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 1:**

**Collapse**

Kisshu was flying around Tokyo, trying to find Ichigo. He was surprised she wasn't at the park, since school was over for the day. Finally he decided to go to her house, and see if she was there.

Kisshu teleported into the tree outside Ichigo's window, and looked in. To his surprise and worry, Ichigo was in bed. As he watched, she started coughing. _Looks like she's sick, _Kisshu thought. He watched for a few minutes, and was surprised that he hadn't seen her parents yet. Finally, worried, he teleported into the room.

Ichigo looked up, startled, but then started coughing again. When she stopped, she said, "Kisshu, go away. I don't feel good, and I'm not in the mood to deal with you."

"Ichigo, shouldn't your parents be here?" Kisshu asked. "I've been watching you for a while, and they haven't come in."

"You're such a stalker," Ichigo said. "My parents left this morning, if you must know."

"They left you here ALONE?" Kisshu asked, shocked. "Even though you're sick?"

"It's just a cold," Ichigo said. Then she started coughing again.

Worried, Kisshu walked over to the bed. Ichigo tried to scoot away, until Kisshu gently put a hand on her forehead. His eyes widened, and he said, "Koneko-chan, you're burning up!"

Ichigo didn't reply. Kisshu looked down, and saw that she was asleep. _This isn't good…. _he thought. Suddenly he got an idea. He gently picked her up, and teleported.

The two of them arrived in a large room. It wasn't the usual dimension, with the pillars and green mist. This was Kisshu's own private dimension, where he went to be alone. Kisshu had stocked the room with food, furniture, and medical supplies, just in case. He was glad of that now, since he had fever medication in the room too.

He put Ichigo down on the bed, and covered her with the comforter that he had taken from her room. Suddenly he remembered that the fever medication he had couldn't be taken on an empty stomach. Kisshu started looking through the food he had in the dimension, and found a package that he had stolen from a human store. Apparently it was some kind of soup.

Kisshu found a pot that he had stolen from the spaceship's kitchen, and filled it with water, then put it on the little stove he had to boil. Then he read the instructions, thinking how weird human food was. The little package said to pour the powder into a pot of boiling water, and stir for three minutes, and then let it stand for three more minutes. Kisshu did that, and then poured the soup into a bowl.

That done, he noticed that Ichigo was waking up.

**Well, I got another idea. I hope people like this story. I don't really know where I want to go with this, but that's the case with all my stories. Review Plz!**


	2. Caring for Ichigo

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 2:**

**Caring for Ichigo**

Kisshu noticed Ichigo was waking up, and went over to her. "Where am I?" Ichigo asked. "And why did you take me here?"

"You're in my dimension, and I took you here because you're sick," Kisshu replied. "I made you some kind of human soup, but I don't really know what it is, so I hope it's something you like."

"Kisshu, why are you being so nice?" Ichigo asked. "I thought that you would have killed me by now."

"I would never kill you!" Kisshu said. "I'm not Pai, you know."

"I thought it was your mission to kill me and the other Mews," Ichigo said.

Kisshu looked away, and said, "If I wanted to kill you, you would have been dead a long time ago. I could have easily defeated you and your friends by now, but I love you too much to do so."

Ichigo looked shocked. "I thought I was only a toy," she said. "And you seriously believe you could defeat all of us?"

"I'm the best warrior on my planet, I've just been going easy on you," Kisshu said. "Pai would say the same, except he'd sound really disgusted while saying that."

"You actually love me?" Ichigo asked.

Kisshu actually blushed, and said, "Y-yeah…."

Ichigo looked like she wanted to say something else, but started coughing again. Kisshu looked at her and said, "Do you want some of the soup I made?"

"Yes please," Ichigo said softly.

Kisshu got the bowl and asked, "Can you sit up?"

Ichigo sat up, and took the bowl from Kisshu. "This is miso soup," she said. "Thanks, Kisshu."

Kisshu smiled and said, "Sure, Koneko-chan."

Ichigo drank the soup, and said, "I'm tired…"

"Can you take some of the fever medicine here before going to sleep?" Kisshu asked. "I think it'll help."

"Okay…" Ichigo said.

Kisshu picked up the bottle, and looked at the instructions. Then he poured some onto a spoon, and gave it to Ichigo. She swallowed it, then said, "Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Yeah, sure," Kisshu said. Ichigo smiled slightly, and went to sleep. Kisshu was getting tired too, and he looked at the clock on the wall. It was nighttime, so he decided that he would go to sleep too. Kisshu took an extra blanket off of the sofa, and laid down on the sofa, wrapping himself in the blanket. Soon after, he was asleep too.

Kisshu woke up the next morning at around seven, and went over to check on Ichigo. She was still sleeping, but it looked like she still had a fever. Kisshu went to get more of the medicine, and a spoon. By the time he came back, Ichigo was starting to wake up.

She looked up when she saw him, and said, "Morning."

"Morning," Kisshu said. "I think you need more of the medicine, you've still got a fever."

"That stuff tastes awful," Ichigo said.

"Don't I know it," Kisshu said. "Pai makes me take it every single time I catch a cold. He's such a worrywart."

Ichigo giggled. "That's kind of hard to imagine," she said. "Do you get sick a lot, then?"

"Not really, but I did this past winter," Kisshu said.

"Why?" Ichigo asked.

"Cause I spent most of my free time in that tree outside your window," Kisshu said, smirking.

"Hentai," Ichigo muttered.

"Hey, at least I didn't watch you changing," Kisshu said. Before Ichigo could retort, Kisshu poured more medicine onto the spoon, and as she opened her mouth to say something, stuck the spoon in. Ichigo swallowed, but then started coughing again.

Worried, Kisshu came over and started patting her on the back until she stopped coughing. "Are you okay?" he asked when she got her breath back.

"Next time, warn me before putting stuff in my mouth," Ichigo said. "I'm okay, I guess."

Kisshu sighed, relieved. "You should go back to sleep," he said. "I'll be here if you need me."

"Thanks, Kisshu," Ichigo said. She was blushing slightly. Kisshu noticed, but since Ichigo was half-asleep, he didn't say anything. Instead he went over to the sofa and sat down, picking up a piece of wood on the way. Then he got out his Dragon Swords and started carving.

By the time Ichigo woke up again, Kisshu had finished carving. He had carved a miniature replica of Ichigo in cat form. Noticing she was awake, he went over and said, "How are you feeling?"

"A little better," Ichigo said. "Thanks for taking care of me, Kisshu."

Kisshu was startled by this, but still said, "Anytime, Koneko-chan." Then he said, "I made you something, look." He held out the little carving.

"Wow, that's amazing Kisshu," Ichigo said. "I didn't know you could carve things."

"It's my hobby," Kisshu said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

Ichigo gently took the carving from Kisshu, and said, "I love it!"

"I'm glad," Kisshu said, smiling. Then his smile faded, and he asked, "Ichigo, do you like me?"

Ichigo turned bright red and didn't reply. Then she said, so quietly that Kisshu almost didn't hear, "Maybe…"

"Y-you do?" Kisshu asked, completely shocked. "You always used to tell me you hated me, though."

"I never really hated you," Ichigo admitted softly. "I thought that telling you that would make it easier for me to fight, but instead I think it made it harder. And I'm beginning to agree with Lettuce."

"Agree on what?" Kisshu asked.

"Lettuce thinks that we shouldn't fight, and that there's another way to solve this battle," Ichigo said. "Don't tell anyone, but I think that she's also in love with Pai. She keeps looking at him everytime we fight you guys."

"Personally, I think Pai's got a thing for her too," Kisshu said. "Don't tell him I said that, though."

"I won't tell if you won't," Ichigo said.

"Deal," Kisshu said. "What do you think we should do? I don't like the fighting much either, since I'm fighting you."

"Couldn't we form a truce?" Ichigo asked. "I know that my group has most of the Mew Aqua; what if we used it to restore your planet?"

"That's a _great _idea, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said. "I have to admit, this planet might not work too well for my people; it's really polluted."

"I'd have to agree with that," Ichigo said. Then she yawned.

"Sleepy, Koneko-chan?" Kisshu asked.

"Yeah…" Ichigo said.

"You should get some more sleep, we can talk more later," Kisshu said.

"K…" Ichigo said, falling back to sleep.

**Well, now they've got an idea to stop the fighting. And I apologize to the people who want me to write ZakuroXPai, but I don't really support that pairing. I prefer LettuceXPai. Sorry! Review plz!**


	3. What Goes Around Comes Around

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 3:**

**What Goes Around Comes Around**

Kisshu was watching Ichigo sleep. It looked to him like her fever was almost gone, so he figured she'd be feeling better soon. He was a bit sad, since he'd have to take her back to Earth, but if they were able to form a truce, maybe they could be together! Kisshu smirked, thinking that if they formed a truce, Taruto would get glomped by the monkey girl a lot more. Thinking about this actually caused him to start snickering.

Unfortunately, this woke Ichigo up, and she said suspiciously, "Kisshu, why are you snickering like that?"

Kisshu looked up and said, "I was thinking about how if we formed a truce, Taruto would get glomped by the monkey girl more often. I like watching him turn bright red."

Ichigo began laughing, hard. Kisshu started laughing too, and soon they were both laughing too hard to speak. Finally Ichigo calmed down and said, "Well, I bet Pudding would love that. She's really attached to 'Taru-Taru'."

"Is that really what she calls him?" Kisshu asked, snickering.

"Yeah, and she wants all of us to call him that too," Ichigo said.

This was too much for Kisshu, who burst out laughing again. "I can't wait to start calling him that!" Kisshu said.

"Yeah, we'll all get a laugh out of that," Ichigo agreed.

Kisshu suddenly yawned. "I think I'm going to sleep, it's after midnight," he said.

"Wow, really?" Ichigo said. "Well, see you tomorrow, then."

Kisshu nodded, and sleepily curled up on the couch again. Soon after, he was asleep. And as he slept, he began dreaming…..

_**Kisshu's dream: **__Kisshu was flying over Tokyo, looking for Ichigo. Suddenly he heard a scream, but not just any scream. It was Ichigo! Kisshu teleported to the sound, and what he saw made him freeze in shock. The Blue Knight stood over Ichigo, laughing. His sword was embedded in her chest, and she was lying in a pool of her own blood, dead. "ICHIGO!" Kisshu screamed. The Blue Knight turned…._

"Kisshu! _**Kisshu!**_" Kisshu started to wake up; someone was calling his name and shaking him. He opened his eyes to see Ichigo standing over him, looking scared. "Ichigo? You're alive?" he asked dazedly.

"Yes, of course," Ichigo said. "But what happened? You were screaming in your sleep, and it took me ten minutes of shaking you and calling your name to wake you up."

"I-I heard you screaming, so I teleported to where you were, but the Blue Knight had already killed you," Kisshu said. He sounded scared.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Ichigo said. "It was just a nightmare, that's all."

"Good…" Kisshu said, sounding tired again.

Ichigo noticed that Kisshu was looking tired, and said, "Go back to sleep, I'm right here."

Kisshu slowly fell back to sleep, and didn't have any more nightmares. The next morning, however, he woke up and groaned. "I feel awful," he groaned. Kisshu had a really bad headache, and was feeling dizzy, too.

Ichigo came over at the sound of his voice, and said, "I made some more of that soup, and I think you should have some, you've got a pretty bad fever. I think you caught whatever I had."

Kisshu looked up at her and said, "I'm feeling dizzy, and I have a bad headache. I think you might be right. I guess we're both stuck here for a while, I definitely can't teleport in this condition."

"Are you able to sit up?" Ichigo asked.

"I'll try," Kisshu said. He pushed himself up, but fell back, dizzy. "The room's spinning now," he said.

"I'll help you," Ichigo said. She sat down next to him, and said, "Here, open up."

Kisshu obeyed, and she started feeding him the soup. He ate about half, but then said, "I'm not really hungry anymore."

"I'm going to give you some of the medicine that you gave me," Ichigo said. "It should help." She got up and put the bowl on the counter, and then picked up the bottle of medicine that Kisshu had left out. Then she got out a spoon, and poured some of the medicine onto it. She held it out to Kisshu, who reluctantly swallowed it.

"You should go back to sleep," Ichigo said. "It'll help you recover."

Kisshu slowly fell asleep again. Ichigo pulled another blanket over him, and sat down next to him.

**I know what people are thinking. 'She made Kisshu get sick AGAIN?' Well, this time there's actually a reason, which is that I wanted more Kisshu and Ichigo alone time. Besides, them taking care of each other is cute. Plz don't flame me!**


	4. Recovery and Planning

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 4:**

**Recovery and Planning**

Kisshu was woken up a while later by a tickle in his throat. He started coughing, and Ichigo looked up. She pulled him up, and held him until the coughing subsided.

"I really don't feel good," Kisshu said after he stopped coughing.

Ichigo helped him lie back down, and put a hand on his forehead. "You still have a fever, so I'm not surprised," she said. "I'll go get more of the medicine, okay?"

Kisshu sighed, but nodded. Ichigo got the medicine, poured a spoonful, and fed it to Kisshu. He swallowed it, and said, "Yuck. What should we do after I get better?"

"We might as well try to set up some kind of peace talks," Ichigo said. "To be honest, though, before I got sick, I was planning on quitting the Mews."

"What? Why?" Kisshu asked, startled.

"I'm really sick of fighting, and I'm even more sick of Ryou," Ichigo said. "He's been mean and nasty to me and only me from day one, and if it wasn't for the other Mews, I'd have quit Café Mew Mew, at least, a long time ago."

"So Blondie didn't give you a choice?" Kisshu asked.

"He didn't give any of us a choice," Ichigo replied. "He turned us all into Mews, and since he found me first, he made me the leader of the team, and made me find all the other Mews and get them on our side. At first I didn't mind finding the other Mews; it meant I'd have friends to share the secret with. But after a while of fighting, having to work in the Café, and hearing Lettuce try to convince Ryou that you, Pai and Taruto couldn't be _all_ bad, I began to think more and more about just leaving the team to fend for themselves. If I told Lettuce the reason, she might have followed me out the door. I think she's sick of Ryou's prejudices too."

"Wow, Lettuce was trying to convince Blondie that we're not that bad?" Kisshu asked. "Can I tell Pai? He'll be really impressed."

"I guess so," Ichigo said. "But we have to find a way to get our groups together first. And before that can happen, you have to get better."

"I guess you're right," Kisshu said. Suddenly he started coughing again. Ichigo pulled him up again, and when he stopped, she helped him lie back down.

"Get some more sleep," Ichigo told Kisshu. "You need it to recover."

Kisshu nodded, and went back to sleep. He woke up again the next morning, and noticed that Ichigo was also waking up. When she saw that he was awake, she came over and asked, "Kisshu, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, actually," Kisshu said. "I feel a lot better."

Ichigo put a hand on his forehead, and said, "Well, your fever's gone, so that's good. Do you want something to eat?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," Kisshu said. "I think I have some bread around, do you want to have toast?"

"Sure," Ichigo said. "I'll make it, so stay there."

"Thanks, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said. Ichigo smiled at him, then went to find the bread. She finally found a loaf of white bread, and put a few pieces in the toaster. She decided not to ask where Kisshu had found all this stuff, in case he did something illegal to get it. (Which, of course, he did- he stole it all from either Pai or some human store.)

While the bread was toasting, Ichigo looked in the fridge, and found butter. She didn't find any jam, but that was fine. She buttered the toast, and brought some back to Kisshu, who was sitting up by this point. Then they both ate their breakfast in comfortable silence.

After they were done, Ichigo said, "Kisshu, are you feeling up to teleporting? I think we should get our plan underway soon."

"I agree," Kisshu said. "I think I can teleport." He tried, and before Ichigo could figure out where he went, he grabbed her from behind, causing her ears and tail to pop out. Kisshu laughed and let go. "Well, I can teleport now, so who are we going to see first?" he asked.

Ichigo checked the clock and said, "Well, the Cafe's still open, so let's go to Pai and Taruto first. I hope they don't attack, I don't have my pendant."

"Maybe we should get your pendant first then," Kisshu said. "Just in case."

"Okay, it's in my room," Ichigo said. Kisshu smiled and took her hand, then teleported to her room. Ichigo reached under her desk, and pulled out a small box. "I'm all set," she said.

"Great, let's go to the spaceship," Kisshu said. Ichigo nodded, so Kisshu took her hand and teleported.

They arrived in the main room, and found that Pai and Taruto were waiting there. Pai looked at Kisshu and Ichigo, then said, "Kisshu, where the _hell_ have you been, and _why _are you with Mew Ichigo?"

"Nice to see you too, Pai," Kisshu said. "I was in a dimension that I created a while back. Ichigo got sick, and her parents left her, so I took her there to take care of her. Then _I _got sick, and she took care of me. We came here with an idea she had."

"What is this idea?" Pai asked.

"I thought that we should stop fighting, and in order to ensure that you and your people would survive, we would give you all the Mew Aqua, on the condition that you stop attacking," Ichigo said. "We have to talk to the other Mews as well, but I'm pretty sure that everyone except Ryou will agree that this is a better idea."

"This suggestion actually comes at a good time," Pai said. "Deep Blue, our leader, has vanished, and we haven't heard from him in about two weeks."

"That's probably for the best," Kisshu said. "You know he was always dead set against cooperation."

"Alright, so what's next?" Pai asked.

"We go to Café Mew Mew, and talk to the others," Ichigo said. "Let's go."

"Okay," Kisshu said. Pai and Taruto nodded, and they teleported to Café Mew Mew. Luckily, the Café was empty now, except for the other Mews, Ryou and Keiichiro. Ichigo knocked on the door, and nodded to the Cyniclons, then went in. The Cyniclons followed her.

Lettuce was the only one in the main room, and her jaw dropped when Ichigo, Kisshu, Pai, and Taruto walked in.

"Lettuce, are the others here?" Ichigo asked.

"H-hai," Lettuce said.

"Can you get them, please? We've got something to say," Ichigo said.

"Sure, Ichigo-san," Lettuce said. She went to the basement, a bit puzzled, but somehow happy. She sensed that there might be a change in the air for the Mews and Cyniclons, and that made her smile as she went to the basement and said, "Ichigo's back, and she wants you all to come upstairs."

"Ichigo's back?" Ryou asked, jumping up. He ran upstairs, followed by the others. Lettuce came last, and wasn't really surprised to hear Ryou shouting at Ichigo, "WHY did you bring the aliens here, Ichigo!?"

Ichigo said calmly, "I brought them here so we could talk over an idea I had."

"Is that why you disappeared?" Mint asked.

"No, actually I got sick, and Kisshu took care of me, because my parents weren't around," Ichigo said. "Then Kisshu got sick, so I took care of him until he could teleport, and we went to talk to Pai and Taruto."

Everyone except Lettuce, who was smiling, had their jaws on the floor. "_Kisshu _took care of you?" Mint asked, shocked.

"Why is that surprising, Birdy?" Kisshu asked.

"Maybe because you spend most of your time trying to destroy us," Mint said.

"Eh… Yeah… Sorry 'bout that," Kisshu said.

"So back to the topic at hand," Ryou said. "What is your idea, Ichigo? And this better be good, since you were gone for four days."

"I thought we could form a truce, and in return for the Cyniclons to stop attacking, we would give them all the Mew Aqua to save their planet, rather than taking ours," Ichigo said.

Ryou's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?" he asked.

"This isn't exactly something I would joke about," Ichigo said. "Of course I'm serious."

"I'm glad _someone _finally agrees with me," Lettuce said, shocking the others. "I tried time and again to convince you all that this fighting is just wrong. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who feels that way."

"You were right all along, Lettuce," Ichigo said. "Thanks for planting that idea in my head, I don't think I would have come up with this otherwise.

"You're welcome, Ichigo-san," Lettuce said. "Now we just need to convince the others." She looked around.

Pudding was the first to speak, and she said, "Pudding likes this plan, na no da. Now Pudding can hug Taru-Taru whenever she wants!"

Taruto turned pale at the thought of Pudding hugging him whenever she wanted.

Zakuro spoke next, and she said, "I think this is a good idea. This way, we can all cooperate, and not fight endlessly. This battle wasn't really going anywhere anyways."

"Well, if Oneesama says it's fine, so do I," Mint said. "I'd like to stop fighting too."

Keiichiro said, "I agree. You girls have been through enough, if we could form a truce, that'd be good for everyone."

Ryou was starting to look like a fish out of water. Finally he said, "I can't believe you all. The aliens have done nothing but attack you from day one, and now you think they've suddenly changed? Are you all insane?"

"NO, we are not," Ichigo said. "You're the insane one, thinking that forming a truce is a bad idea. If you had any common sense, you'd see that this is for the best. I thought you created Tokyo Mew Mew to protect the Earth, not to murder the Cyniclons."

"I did," Ryou said.

"Then what's the big deal?" Ichigo asked. "Don't tell me you're going to let your prejudices get in the way of what's best for everyone."

"I'm not willing to do this," Ryou said. "I don't trust the aliens, and I think it's a bad idea to give them the Mew Aqua."

"Jeez, what a stubborn jerk," Ichigo said. "You really don't care about anyone but yourself, do you?"

"I care about you," Ryou said.

"Very funny. I'm well aware that you actually hate my guts," Ichigo said. "I don't really think that was a good effort."

"But it's true!" Ryou said. "I've always cared about you."

"Are you kidding? You treated me like dirt from day one, and NOW you expect me to believe you care?" Ichigo asked incredulously. "For your information, I hate you. And I know you hate me back, so don't pretend you don't. It's not amusing, Ryou."

"You hate me?" Ryou asked, shocked.

"Why does that surprise you?" Ichigo asked. "Before I got sick, I was about to tell you that I was quitting both Café work and the Mews. I was sick of fighting, and I was even more sick of you. You're nothing but a selfish, racist jerk, and I hate you."

"Ichigo, you were going to _quit_?" Mint asked.

"Yup," Ichigo said. "I'm glad we came up with this solution to fighting, but just so you know, as long as Ryou owns Café Mew Mew, I won't work here."

The others were shocked.

Keiichiro finally said, "Well, that's entirely your choice now, Ichigo. Now that we don't need to fight, you all are free to do as you please."

**To be continued... sometime tomorrow! Review Please!**


	5. Confessions

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 5:**

**Confessions**

Everyone was pretty surprised by Ichigo's announcement that she was quitting Café Mew Mew. But there were bigger things to worry about right now, like getting the Mew Aqua for the Cyniclons.

Suddenly, however, Lettuce thought of something. "What will your leader say about this plan?" she asked.

"Our leader has vanished for some reason," Pai said. "I'm guessing something happened to his human host."

"Do you know who his human host was?" Ichigo asked.

"Actually, I do," Pai said. "His host was Aoyama Masaya."

"Ichigo, what should we do? You like him, right?" Mint asked.

"I was actually going to break up with him soon," Ichigo admitted. "Not only did I realize that I'm in love with Kisshu, he's been a real jerk lately."

Everyone, except for Lettuce and Kisshu, had their jaws on the floor. "I'm so happy for you, Ichigo!" Lettuce said, surprising everyone but Ichigo.

"Thanks Lettuce, but I'm not the only one who likes an alien, am I?" Ichigo asked, smirking.

Lettuce turned bright red. "Um… Well… I guess," she stammered.

The others were getting a bit confused. "Lettuce likes an alien? I thought she liked Ryou," Mint said.

"After about the fifth time he said that the aliens are scum that doesn't deserve to live, that pretty much dried up," Lettuce said. "To be honest, if I had known Ichigo wanted to quit, I would have followed her out the door. I'm not really cut out for Café work anyways."

"So who does Lettuce-oneechan like?" Pudding asked.

Lettuce mumbled something that no one except Kisshu heard. "So, Ichigo was right, you DO like Pai," he said with a smirk.

Everyone else's jaws dropped again. Even Pai looked pretty shocked. Lettuce was bright red again.

Finally Pai said, "Lettuce, you like me?"

"Y-yes," Lettuce said softly.

For the first time in history, Pai actually blushed. Then, to everyone's utter shock, he said, "I actually really like you too, Lettuce…"

Before Lettuce could say anything, Kisshu shouted, "YES! Finally one of my brothers isn't a pathetic lump when it comes to love!"

"Hey, whaddya mean, pathetic lump?" Taruto asked indignantly.

Before Kisshu could respond, Pai whacked him over the head. "OW! Pai, what was that for?" Kisshu moaned.

"You're being annoying," Pai growled.

"OI! How am I a pathetic lump?" Taruto shouted.

"You won't confess your love for Pudding," Kisshu said matter-of-factly.

Taruto turned dark red and shouted, "I DON'T LOVE PUDDING!"

Suddenly Kisshu's smirk slid off his face. Taruto followed his gaze. Pudding looked like she was about to cry. "Taru-Taru doesn't love Pudding? Pudding loves Taru-Taru," Pudding said sadly.

Taruto was looking nervous, since everyone, including Pai, was glaring at him. "Nice, Taruto, you made her sad," Kisshu said. "Now go make her happy."

Taruto gulped, and walked over to Pudding. She didn't look at him. "Um… Pudding, I didn't really mean that," Taruto said. "I actually really like you, monkey."

Pudding looked at him, and said, "Really?"

"Yep," Taruto said, smiling.

"YAY!" Pudding said. Then she glomped onto Taruto, saying, "Pudding loves you, Taru-Taru!"

"Gah… Pudding… Air…." Taruto gasped.

"Sorry Taru-Taru!" Pudding said, getting off him.

Everyone except Ryou was now smiling. "I'm glad that Taruto finally confessed," Pai said unexpectedly. "He's been in denial for way too long."

Ichigo said, "Well, he made Pudding a very happy girl." The others nodded.

"Hey Koneko-chan, wanna know what would make _me_ happy?" Kisshu asked.

"A kiss, right?" Ichigo said, smiling.

"Am I that predictable?" Kisshu asked.

"Sometimes," Ichigo said. Then she kissed him, and he kissed back. When they broke apart, they noticed that Pai and Lettuce were doing the same thing.

What they didn't notice was Ryou getting a death aura around him.

**Okay, I know it's another cliffie. But I thought it might be good to establish the pairings I'll be using. And I know Lettuce and Pai are OOC, but I like the way this came out. Review!**


	6. Fighting

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 6:**

**Fighting**

Suddenly, in the middle of all this, Ryou said, "You guys are disgusting. Ichigo, Lettuce, I don't understand how you can even touch those jerks."

Ichigo and Lettuce both turned red with anger. Then they shouted together, "THEY ARE NOT JERKS!"

Ichigo continued, "The only jerk here is you, Ryou. You're a good for nothing, rascist bastard who doesn't care about other's feelings."

Lettuce said, "If you think the Cyniclons are disgusting, it just proves that you don't have any brains. They are people too, and as far as I can see, the real monster is you."

"I'm not a monster, they are!" Ryou said angrily.

"If you're not a monster, then prove it," Ichigo said. "Give the Cyniclons all the Mew Aqua we have, and I mean all. Then we _might _reconsider."

"If you think I'm that stupid, you've got another thing coming," Ryou said. "They'll just use it to take over everything."

"NO, we won't," Kisshu said angrily. "We've agreed to form a truce, and you still want to fight? Fine. Then you can fight us, and the Mews can watch you go down in flames."

To everyone's surprise, Ryou took a device out of his pocket and pushed a button on it. The device suddenly began to lengthen, and then turned into a sword with a black blade. "Bring it on," he said.

Kisshu got out his Dragon Swords as the others backed up. Then Ryou lunged forward, and Kisshu dodged. Kisshu could see immediately that Ryou was inexperienced, and decided to use that to his advantage. He lunged forward, and just as Ryou brought up his blade, Kisshu trapped Ryou's sword with his blades.

Clearly Ryou hadn't expected this, because his eyes widened. Kisshu twisted his blades, and wrenched the black sword out of Ryou's hand. It went flying, and the others gasped. Ichigo used her cat reflexes to catch it by the hilt.

"Nice catch, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said with a smile

"Thanks, Kisshu," Ichigo said. "What will you do now, Ryou?"

Ryou snarled and launched himself at Kisshu, who was taken by surprise. Nevertheless, he dodged Ryou's punch, and said, "So that's how you want it? Fine." Kisshu let his Dragon Swords disappear, and dodged another punch, then tried to punch Ryou. Ryou turned his head to the side, but Kisshu still managed to land a punch on his shoulder. Suddenly Ryou grabbed Kisshu's wrist, and actually managed to throw him. Unfortunately, Kisshu's head hit the ground pretty hard, knocking him out.

"KISSHU!" Ichigo shouted. Before Ryou could do anything more, Ichigo handed the sword she was still holding to Lettuce, and ran over to Kisshu. She placed herself firmly in front of him, ignoring the fact that Ryou was about to explode. "I won't let you hurt Kisshu anymore," she told Ryou. Then she tried to punch him. He caught her hand, but didn't notice that she was about to kick him. Ichigo brought her knee up and nailed him in the place where the sun doesn't shine.

Ryou cried out, and let go of Ichigo's hand. Ichigo then kicked Ryou's feet out from under him, and said, "You're through, Ryou."

"No I'm not," Ryou said. He took a knife out of his pocket, and lunged at Ichigo. Before she could do anything, though, Lettuce shocked everyone by taking the sword Ichigo had handed her, and placing herself in front of Ichigo and Kisshu. She held the sword up, and said, "Ichigo, get Kisshu out of the way. I'll fight Ryou."

"Got it," Ichigo said. She picked up Kisshu, and moved away. Ryou, though shocked by Lettuce's behavior, lunged at her. Lettuce dodged, and swept the sword around. When it collided with Ryou's knife, the knife went flying. Everyone ducked, and the knife impaled itself in a wall.

"What are you going to do now, Ryou?" Lettuce asked.

Ryou turned, and tried to run, but the others all closed in on him. "Enough, Ryou," Keiichiro said. "If you won't give the aliens the Mew Aqua, I will, but this fighting must stop. You're out of weapons anyways, and you're outnumbered here."

"I don't care," Ryou said. He turned back around, and the others saw he was looking at Ichigo and Kisshu. Pai took advantage of his distraction to knock him out from behind. Ryou crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

"Thanks, Pai," Lettuce said.

"Sure," said Pai. "You were amazing, Lettuce-chan."

Lettuce blushed.

Keiichiro said, "Should I tie Ryou up?"

"Good idea, and make sure he doesn't go anywhere near the basement," Ichigo said.

"Will do," Keiichiro said, and dragged Ryou off up the stairs.

The others all went over to Ichigo, who was sitting on the floor with Kisshu's head in her lap. Kisshu was still unconscious.

"Pai, is there a way to wake him up?" Ichigo asked.

"I can try something," Pai said. He put a finger on Kisshu's forehead, and tapped his forehead twice. As the others watched, Kisshu started to wake up.

"What happened?" Kisshu asked. "I've got a really bad headache, and I'm really dizzy."

"Ryou threw you, and you hit your head pretty hard," Ichigo said. "I hope you don't have a concussion."

"I'll check," Pai said. He put his hand on Kisshu's forehead. "Looks like you do have a concussion," Pai said finally. "I guess you'll have to take it easy for a while."

"Great…" Kisshu said. "Hey, what happened to Ryou?"

"Lettuce attacked him, and then Pai knocked him out," Ichigo said.

"Kisshu, we should get you back to the ship," Pai said.

"Can I come?" Ichigo asked.

"Uh… sure," Pai said. "Taruto, you get to teleport Ichigo, I'll take Kisshu."

Taruto sighed, but grabbed Ichigo's hand. Pai picked up Kisshu, and said, "We'll see you around. We can't go back to our planet until Kisshu's better."

"Okay," the others said.

Pai nodded, and he and Taruto teleported off with Kisshu and Ichigo. They arrived at the ship, and Pai carried Kisshu to his room, then put him on the bed. "Get some rest," he advised. "You should take it easy for a while, and try not to push yourself." Pai turned to Ichigo. "Do you want to stay with him?" he asked.

"Is that okay?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, sure," Pai said. "Do you need anything from your house?"

"Might be a good idea," Ichigo said. Pai nodded, then took her hand and teleported to her room. Ichigo grabbed a bag, put some clothes in, went and got her toiletries, and went back to her room. She grabbed her sleeping bag and pillow, then said, "I'm all set."

Pai teleported back to Kisshu's room, where they found him asleep. Ichigo set her stuff down as Pai teleported out, then sat down next to Kisshu.

**Yeah, Kisshu's hurt again. I wanted to get more fluff in there, and that seems to be the best way sometimes. And I know Lettuce's OOCness is getting a bit out of control, but I like it, so I hope others do too. Plz Review on your way out!**


	7. Downtime

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 7:**

**Downtime**

Ichigo was still sitting next to Kisshu a few hours later. He hadn't stirred at all, and Ichigo knew rest was the best thing for him right now, so she tried not to worry too much.

About two hours later, Kisshu woke up. He saw Ichigo sitting next to him and said, "I'm hungry, is there anything to eat around here?"

"I'll ask Pai," Ichigo said. "What do you want?"

"Toast would be fine," Kisshu said.

"Okay," Ichigo said. She got up and went to find Pai. She found him in a room a little ways away from Kisshu's room, and said, "Pai, Kisshu's hungry, do you have a kitchen?"

"Yeah, it's two doors down on the right," Pai said. "What does Kisshu want?"

"He said toast would be fine," Ichigo said.

"Okay, I'll show you where we keep everything," Pai said. He led the way down the hall, and when they got to the kitchen, he pointed out where everything was. Ichigo got out a loaf of bread, and put some in the toaster. When it was done, she buttered it and took it back to Kisshu's room. He was still awake, and when he saw her, he tried to sit up. Unfortunately, he almost immediately fell back, one hand over his eyes.

"Kisshu! Are you okay?" Ichigo asked, worried.

"Not really," Kisshu said weakly. "The room is spinning. I guess sitting up isn't good for me."

"Do you still want the toast I made?" Ichigo asked.

"Maybe later," Kisshu said. "My stomach doesn't feel great anymore."

"Okay," Ichigo said. "Maybe you should get some more sleep. I'll be here if you need anything."

"Thanks, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said, falling back to sleep.

He woke up again about two hours later, and said, "I think I'm hungry."

"I've still got the toast, but it's probably cold," Ichigo said.

"That's okay," Kisshu said. "But I still can't sit up."

"I'll help you eat," Ichigo said. She handed him a piece of toast, and he managed to eat it lying down. She gave him some more, and when he finished that, he said, "Thanks for taking care of me, Koneko-chan."

"Sure Kisshu," Ichigo said. "I'm going to take this plate back to the kitchen, so try to go back to sleep."

Kisshu nodded, but that ended up making him dizzy again. He closed his eyes, and was asleep soon after. Ichigo took the dishes back to the kitchen and washed them, then went back to Kisshu. It was getting late, so Ichigo laid out her sleeping bag next to Kisshu's bed, and settled down for the night.

The next morning, she was awakened very suddenly by a scream. She immediately struggled out of her sleeping bag, and saw that Kisshu was screaming in his sleep. She ran over and started shaking him. "Kisshu! Wake up!" she cried out.

Suddenly Kisshu's eyes shot open, and he yanked away from her. Then he groaned and clutched his head. Ichigo was getting really worried. "Kisshu, what happened?" she asked softly. "You were screaming."

Kisshu looked startled at the sound of her voice, and didn't respond at first. Finally he said, "Ichigo, is that you?"

"Yes, of course," Ichigo said. "Did you have another nightmare?"

"I guess so, but it felt real," Kisshu said. "Are you sure I'm not still dreaming?"

"Positive," Ichigo said. She put a hand on his forehead. "Well, you don't have a fever, so that's good," she said. "I wonder why you're having these dreams."

"Beats me, but I wish they'd stop," Kisshu said. "Now I don't want to sleep."

Ichigo looked worried. "I'm thinking I should talk to Pai," she said. "Maybe he'll have some idea of what's causing this."

"Okay," Kisshu said. "He's probably in his lab. It's three doors down the hall on the left, and if you don't knock, he'll use one of his fans and blast you out the door. I've lost count of how many times that's happened to Taruto."

"I'll definitely knock then," Ichigo said. She smiled at Kisshu and left. She found the room easily and knocked on the door. "WHAT!? If it's Taruto out there, you should go away. I told you to stay out, after you spilled soda on the computer!" Pai shouted.

Ichigo shouted back, "I'm not Taruto, and I think something might be wrong with Kisshu. Can you come out? I promise not to spill soda on your computer."

A second later, a very red Pai came out and said, "Uh… sorry about that, Ichigo."

"It's fine," said Ichigo. "But I think something might be wrong with Kisshu. He was screaming in his sleep, and when I woke him up, he looked scared at first, until I reassured him that I was still alive. He doesn't have a fever, so I wondered if something else could be causing nightmares."

"I'll come have a look," Pai said. He started to follow Ichigo back, but then they heard Kisshu screaming again. Ichigo broke into a run, and reached the room before Pai did. She immediately saw that Kisshu was asleep, and like last time, she started shaking him. "Kisshu! Wake up!" she cried. Pai came in as Ichigo said this, but this time, Kisshu didn't seem to be waking up.

"Move over," Pai ordered, and Ichigo immediately backed away. Pai tapped Kisshu's forehead, and this time, Kisshu woke up.

"Pai? Where's Ichigo?" Kisshu asked. He sounded scared.

"I'm right here, Kisshu," Ichigo said, coming over.

Kisshu sighed, relieved. Pai looked disturbed, however. "Kisshu, I need you to describe your dream to me," he said.

Kisshu flinched, but said, "I've had the same dream three times. I'm flying around Tokyo, looking for Ichigo, when I hear her screaming. I teleport to the sound, and the Blue Knight is there, with his sword embedded in Ichigo's chest, and she's dead. I scream her name, and the Blue Knight turns. And that's when I wake up."

"And you've had this dream three times?" Pai asked.

"Yeah," Kisshu said.

"It's possible that you're having a premonition, not just a nightmare," Pai said. "If you're having the same dream over and over, it might be something that could happen in the future."

"You mean Ichigo's going to die?" Kisshu asked, scared.

"No, I mean it's a possibility," Pai said. "We can change the future, and so if we know what's going to happen, we can prevent it."

"I don't want Ichigo to die," Kisshu said.

"Like I said, it's only a possibility," Pai said. "You shouldn't get too worked up about it, we can prevent this from happening."

"Okay," Kisshu said, sounding slightly calmer.

"Kisshu, aside from the nightmare problem, how are you feeling?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm still dizzy, and my head still really hurts," Kisshu said. "I'm also really thirsty."

"I'll go get some water," Pai said. "It sounds like you need more time to recover. Concussions take a while to go away."

Kisshu sighed. Ichigo noticed, and ruffled his hair. "I'll be here with you the whole time," she said.

"Thanks, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said.

Ichigo smiled at him, and then Pai came back with the water. He handed the glass to Ichigo, who then helped Kisshu drink it.

When he was done, Kisshu said, "I don't want to go back to sleep."

"I know, but you need to rest, it's the only way you'll get better," Ichigo said. "I'll be right here if you need me."

"Okay," Kisshu said. He sounded tired. Soon after he said this, he was sleeping.

**I might do another chapter tonight, but I'm not sure. Plz Review!**


	8. Bad News

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 8:**

**Bad News**

Kisshu managed to get through the night without having more nightmares. The next morning, he woke up at around the same time Ichigo did. Ichigo came over and said, "How are you feeling, Kisshu?"

"Well, my head doesn't hurt as much, but I'm still pretty dizzy," Kisshu replied. "I'm pretty thirsty again."

"I'll go get you some water," Ichigo said. She left, and went to the kitchen. She was somewhat surprised to see Pai there already. He looked worried, and looked up at her as she came in.

"Ichigo, we need to talk," he said.

"What about?" Ichigo said nervously.

"Kisshu's dreams may have some truth," Pai said. "I found something disturbing in my research about premonitions. If someone dreams that the person they care most about is killed by someone they know, it's more likely to happen."

"But we haven't seen the Blue Knight in ages," Ichigo said, confused. "I thought he would be a part of Deep Blue, and would vanish when Deep Blue did."

"You're right, but I'm starting to think that Deep Blue might not actually be dead," Pai said seriously.

Ichigo seemed to be thinking, and then said, "Is there a way to find out whether Aoyama is still on Earth? You said that he was Deep Blue's human host, so if he disappeared, he might be in a different dimension. I haven't been in school since I was sick, so if he's gone, I wouldn't know."

"I can check the radar," Pai said. Before he could get up, though, music started playing from Ichigo's pocket. Pai jumped. "What's that?" he asked warily.

"My cell phone," Ichigo said. She looked at the caller ID, and said, "We might get some answers right now." Then she opened the cell phone and said, "Hi Miwa, what's up?"

"_Ichigo, Masaya has disappeared!" _Miwa cried.

"And no one's heard from him?" Ichigo asked.

"_You're awfully calm about this," _Miwa said.

"He's been a real jerk lately," Ichigo said. "I was thinking about breaking up with him."

"_Wow, really? Well, in answer to your question, no one's heard from him, and the police can't find him," _Miwa said. _"By the way, where have you been?"_

"I was invited to stay with my pen pal," Ichigo said. "My parents left again, so I decided to go."

"_Cool!" _Miwa said. _"I have to go now."_

"Okay, but please don't spread it around that I was going to break up with Masaya," Ichigo said.

"_Will do," _Miwa said, and hung up.

Ichigo turned to Pai, and said, "That was one of my school friends. She says Aoyama disappeared, and no one's heard from him."

"I think that settles it," Pai said. "Deep Blue hasn't vanished, he was just hiding for some reason."

"That's bad," Ichigo said. Before she could say anything else, however, she heard Kisshu screaming again. She ran to his room, Pai behind her. Kisshu was shivering, and he was still asleep. Ichigo grabbed his shoulders and cried out, "Kisshu! Wake up!"

Kisshu's eyes shot open. He looked terrified of something, and he didn't calm down even when he saw Ichigo. Pai came over, and said, "Kisshu, calm down, and tell us what you saw."

Kisshu still looked really scared, but said, "It was the same dream, but this time, I saw what happened after the Blue Knight turned. He turned around when he heard me, and lunged at me. Something happened, and I was frozen, and then he killed me too. After that, I saw Ichigo again, but she looked different, and she attacked me, claiming that I had killed her parents. Then everything went black, and I felt something grab my shoulders. Then I woke up."

"How did Ichigo look different?" Pai asked.

"She was in Mew Form, but she had a sword, and her eyes were glowing red," Kisshu said. He wasn't much calmer.

Pai and Ichigo exchanged a disturbed look. Ichigo finally said, "Kisshu, I would never try to kill you, even if you killed my parents. I love you too much to kill you."

"Really?" Kisshu asked.

Ichigo smiled. "Really," she said.

Kisshu finally started to calm down after that. "I'm still thirsty," he said when he had calmed down.

"I'll go get some water," Ichigo said. "Sorry I forgot."

Pai followed her out of the room, and closed the door. "Ichigo, I think it might be better if you stayed with Kisshu all the time, at least until he recovers," Pai said. "These dreams really seem to be scaring him, and I think you're the only one who can help."

"I think you're right," Ichigo said. "Do you think it would help if I slept with him? It might be more comforting, and if he's more comfortable, maybe he won't have the nightmares."

"You'd do that?" Pai asked, surprised.

"Hai," Ichigo said. "It would just be at night, but do you think it might help?"

"Maybe," Pai said. "Let's go see what Kisshu thinks."

"We have to get some water first," Ichigo said. She went to the kitchen and got a glass of water, then went back to Kisshu's room. He was still awake, and as she came in, he sat up.

"Kisshu, you're able to sit up now?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, but it still makes me a little dizzy," Kisshu said. "How hard did I hit my head, anyways?"

"Ryou basically slammed you headfirst onto the floor," Ichigo replied. "Frankly, I'm kind of surprised your head didn't crack open."

"Well, Pai's always telling me I'm a hardhead," Kisshu said.

Ichigo giggled, then started laughing. Kisshu was laughing too. He stopped laughing before Ichigo, though, saying, "Now my head's spinning. Maybe laughing so hard wasn't really good for me."

"Can you still drink the water?" Ichigo asked.

"I think so," Kisshu said. Ichigo gave him the glass, and helped him drink it.

As he was finishing, Pai came in and said, "Kisshu, how are you feeling?"

"A little better, I can sit up without getting too dizzy," Kisshu said. "I'm not really sure I want to go back to sleep though."

"Ichigo had an idea about that," Pai said. "She suggested that it might help if she slept with you."

"Koneko-chan, you'd do that?" Kisshu asked.

"As long as you don't do anything perverted," Ichigo said. "It would just be at night, but I think it might help."

"I'd love that!" Kisshu said.

"Pai suggested that I stay with you full time until you recover, and I agreed," Ichigo said. "I think that someone should be here in case you have another nightmare, and Pai and I agreed that I'd be the best person."

"Thanks, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said.

"Sure Kisshu," Ichigo said. "I just hope this works."

"Me too," Kisshu admitted. "Those nightmares are getting really bad." Then he yawned. "What time is it?" he asked

Pai looked at the clock and said, "10:30 at night. Maybe you both should get some sleep, I'll leave you alone."

"O-okay," Kisshu said nervously.

Ichigo noticed the nervousness and said, "I'll be right here, Kisshu." She took off her shoes, and said, "I'm actually pretty tired too. Scoot over." Kisshu obeyed, and Ichigo climbed into the bed, lying down next to him and putting her arms around him. Kisshu put his arms around her too, and sighed.

Soon after, they were both asleep.

**Cute, right? Kisshu's going to get better next chapter. REVIEW!**


	9. More Bad News

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 9:**

**More Bad News**

Ichigo slept with Kisshu for the next three nights, and it seemed to help a lot. He hadn't had any nightmares since the day Ichigo said she'd start sleeping with him. He was also feeling a lot better, and by the fourth day after Ichigo started sleeping with him, Kisshu was pretty much over his concussion. The only problem he still had was teleporting, unfortunately. It made him dizzy if he didn't close his eyes. He also got dizzy trying to fly too high, but other than that, he was pretty much fine.

The next day, Pai came into Kisshu's room while Kisshu and Ichigo were talking, and said, "I just heard from Keiichiro. He says that Ryou has disappeared, and he wants us all to come to the Café for a meeting. Kisshu, can you teleport okay, or should I help you?"

"I'll be fine," Kisshu said. "I'm not sure I can teleport Ichigo with me yet though. Can you do it?"

"Sure," Pai said. "Taruto's already on Earth with Pudding, so let's go." He took Ichigo's hand, and teleported to Café Mew Mew, followed by Kisshu. They arrived in the main room, and landed. Kisshu, however, stumbled and put his hand on his forehead. Ichigo went over to steady him as Keiichiro came up to them.

"Kisshu, you haven't gotten over that concussion yet, have you?" Keiichiro said.

Kisshu didn't reply right away, but finally said, "I'm still having trouble teleporting, but other than that, I'm fine. I just get dizzy sometimes."

"Well, I'm glad you're at least somewhat better," Keiichiro said. "The others are in the basement, come with me."

Ichigo, Kisshu and Pai followed Keiichiro to the basement. Taruto and the other Mews were already there. They looked up as Keiichiro said, "Okay, everyone's here." He turned to Ichigo. "Ryou left a note, saying that he would kill the Cyniclons for taking you away from him."

"What's _that _supposed to mean?" Ichigo asked. "He can't be that mad that I quit, can he? And besides, that was my choice. Kisshu, Pai and Taruto had nothing to do with it."

"I think he's not exactly mad that you quit, I think he's more mad that you fell in love with Kisshu," Keiichiro said. "You know how he is about aliens."

"But how did that 'take me away from him'?" Ichigo asked.

Keiichiro sighed. "Ichigo, Ryou actually had a large crush on you. He didn't know how to handle it, so he tried to act like he didn't care. Unfortunately, he went too far, and his hatred of the aliens didn't really help his case. That's why he was shocked to hear that you hate him. He believed that if you ever broke up with Aoyama, you would eventually fall for him. It was pretty clear to me that that would never happen, but he didn't see it that way. He believed you would come to love him back, and I'm sure he didn't expect you to fall in love with Kisshu, since he believed that you hated Kisshu."

"Ryou…. LOVED me?" Ichigo said in shock. "Jeez, I can't believe he'd think I could ever fall for him. If I had gotten the chance to break up with Masaya, Kisshu would have been the only person I would fall for. Also, I was technically lying about hating Kisshu. I only said that because I thought it would help in battle."

Everyone's jaws were on the floor. "So- you _never _hated me?" Kisshu asked.

"Nope," Ichigo said. "I'm sorry I lied to you, but like I said, I figured it would be bad for both of us if I started saying I loved you. I'm so glad we formed a truce."

Kisshu hugged her. "I'm so glad to hear that, though I wish I had known that sooner," he said.

The others were starting to come out of shock. Lettuce was the first to speak, and she said, "That's good to hear, Ichigo-san. I always thought you two would make a great couple."

Kisshu and Ichigo both smiled. Lettuce smiled too.

Finally, Keiichiro said, "Well, I think that we should get back to the topic at hand. Ryou's disappeared, and I guess we'll have to be more careful. Also, Pai mentioned something to me about Deep Blue. Pai, would you care to elaborate, now that we're all here?"

"Hai," Pai said. "I believe, due to recent events, that Deep Blue is merely hiding somewhere, not dead. Apparently his human host, Aoyama, has disappeared. On top of that, we think Kisshu is having premonitions. He's been having the same nightmare over and over, and since he can describe it clearly, I'd say it's no ordinary dream."

"And what is this dream?" Keiichiro asked.

"Kisshu, I think you should tell them," Pai said.

Kisshu flinched, and Ichigo took his hand. He gripped her hand, and said, "Fine. In the dream, I'm flying over Tokyo, looking for Ichigo. Then I hear her screaming, and teleport to where I heard her. The Blue Knight is standing over her, his sword in her chest, and she's dead. I scream her name, and the Blue Knight turns. That's usually when I wake up, but last time, I saw more. The Blue Knight turns, and attacks me. Somehow I'm frozen, and he kills me. The next thing I know, Ichigo is attacking me, saying I killed her parents. She's in Mew Form, but she has a sword, and her eyes are glowing red. That's all I saw, before she woke me up."

The others looked disturbed. Finally Keiichiro said, "And Pai thinks that these dreams might become reality?"

"Not exactly," Pai said. "If we know what might happen, we might be able to prevent it. There's also a possibility that the dreams might not come true at all, and they're a product of Kisshu's mind that relates to his worst fear."

"Which is…." Zakuro said.

"That Ichigo will die," Pai said.

Kisshu was white as a sheet, and Ichigo looked at him, concerned. "Kisshu, are you okay?" she asked. "You're not looking too good."

Kisshu was staring into space and didn't reply. Pai came over, worried, and snapped his fingers in Kisshu's face. Suddenly Kisshu screamed, "ICHIGO! I swear I didn't kill them!" He was shaking, and suddenly he fell to his knees. Ichigo immediately knelt next to him. "Kisshu, I'm here, and I know you didn't kill them," she said. "Calm down, please!"

Kisshu didn't respond, and Ichigo looked at Pai. Pai looked scared, and said, "I think we should put him to sleep, this is getting bad." Pai walked over and put a hand on Kisshu's forehead, then snapped the fingers of his other hand. Kisshu's eyes closed, and he fell backwards, Ichigo just managing to catch him.

The others were shaken by this, and finally Keiichiro said, "Let's put him in one of the upstairs rooms. Ichigo, you stay with him, and the rest of us will figure out what to do."

"Okay," Ichigo said. Pai picked up Kisshu and followed Keiichiro and Ichigo upstairs. They put Kisshu to bed in the room nearest the stairs, and Ichigo pulled a chair next to the bed. Suddenly she remembered something and said, "The last time I woke Kisshu up, he looked scared of me. I think that we should have someone else in here too."

"Who would you like?" Keiichiro asked.

"Lettuce," Ichigo said. Keiichiro nodded, and he and Pai left. Lettuce came upstairs soon after, and pulled up a chair. She sat down, and put a hand on Ichigo's shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"I'm getting really worried," Ichigo admitted softly. "Kisshu's having a really hard time with these nightmares."

"I'm sure he'll pull through," Lettuce said. "You have to stay strong for his sake. He'll make it through this, I'm sure of it."

"Thanks Lettuce," Ichigo said, trying to smile. Then the two girls turned back to Kisshu.

It was about another hour before Kisshu woke up, and he woke up looking panicked. "Ichigo?" he asked.

"I'm right here," Ichigo said, taking his hand. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you."

"What do you mean?" Kisshu asked.

"Earlier, you went into some kind of trance, and screamed 'Ichigo! I swear I didn't kill them!' It sounded like you thought I was about to attack. I tried to reassure you, but you didn't hear me," Ichigo said. "Then Pai put you to sleep, and we took you to this room to rest. How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess," Kisshu said. "I wish these nightmares would just vanish, it's scaring me."

"I'll do everything I can to help you through this," Ichigo said.

"Should I leave you two alone?" Lettuce asked.

Kisshu started at the sound of her voice. "Lettuce, you're here too?" he asked.

"Hai," Lettuce replied. "Ichigo-san said the last time you woke up after a nightmare you were scared of her, so she decided that someone else should be here in case she wasn't able to calm you down."

"Where are the others?" Kisshu asked.

"They're in the basement, discussing what we should do next," Ichigo said. "Can you get up? We should probably join them."

Kisshu sat up, then put his feet on the floor and stood up. Suddenly he stumbled, and Ichigo caught him. "I'm dizzy again," Kisshu admitted.

"We'll help you walk," Ichigo said. She and Lettuce steadied Kisshu and helped him walk down the stairs. They were surprised to see that everyone was already there, and not in the basement. They looked up, all with identical expressions of worry.

"Kisshu, what's wrong?" Pai asked. "It looks like you can't walk too well."

"I'm just dizzy," Kisshu said. Ichigo and Lettuce helped him over to a chair, and he sat down.

"Did you see anything new in that trance?" Pai asked.

"I don't remember going into a trance," Kisshu said. "Actually, I don't remember anything after telling everyone about my dream. I think I blacked out after you told everyone what my worst fear is, because the next thing I remember after that is waking up in that room upstairs."

Pai looked disturbed, as did Keiichiro. "What's wrong?" Kisshu asked. "Aside from the nightmares, that is."

"That's exactly what's wrong," Pai said. "We –Keiichiro and I- can't come up with any answers for why you're having them, or how to stop them."

"That doesn't sound good," Ichigo said. "Do you think they mean that we might have more battles coming up?"

"I'm not sure," Pai said. "But I think we need to find a way to stop them, or it could start to affect Kisshu's health."

Ichigo started to look scared, as Lettuce said, "Well, do you have any suggestions?"

"The only thing that's ever worked, unfortunately, was Ichigo sleeping with Kisshu," Pai said. "It gave him enough comfort that he could sleep without having the nightmares. But she can't keep that up forever."

"Ichigo, are your parents back yet?" Keiichiro asked.

"I don't think so, why?" Ichigo asked.

"We need to talk to them about this," Keiichiro said. "No matter what happens, they need to know."

"O-okay," Ichigo said. "I don't know how they'll react, so if you want me to bring them here, get ready for my dad blowing his top."

Keiichiro smiled, and was about to say something, when Ichigo's cell phone rang. Ichigo picked up and said, "Moshi moshi?" Then she grimaced and said, "I'm at Café Mew Mew, and we need you and Dad to come here as soon as possible, there's a little problem. When? Okay, thanks Mom, see you soon." Ichig hung up and turned to the others.

"My parents are on their way, so we'd better start planning," she said.

**Okay, so Kisshu didn't exactly get better, but at least he doesn't have a concussion anymore. What's going to happen with Ichigo's parents when they learn the truth? Review and find out, and please don't flame me.**


	10. Explanations

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 10:**

**Explanations**

By the time Ichigo's parents walked in the door of Café Mew Mew, everyone was ready to explain, although they were all still pretty nervous. At Ichigo's request, the other Mews had transformed, while Ichigo stayed the same with her pendant ready. And, of course, the Cyniclons were themselves.

Naturally, Sakura and Shintaro stopped dead when they saw everyone. "I-Ichigo? What's going on?" Sakura asked.

"Well," began Ichigo, "I don't really know how to say this gently, so I'll just be blunt. I'm actually Mew Ichigo, the leader of Tokyo Mew Mew. All my Café friends are Mews as well. Ryou turned us all into Mews to fight off the aliens."

Sakura and Shintaro had their jaws on the floor. "But why don't you look like Mew Ichigo, if all these others are your friends?" Shintaro asked.

Instead of answering, Ichigo took out her pendant, kissed it, and shouted, "MEW MEW STRAWBERRY! METAMORPHO-SIS!" Soon after, she was fully transformed.

Her parents were in shock. "But why now?" Sakura finally asked.

"Because we formed a truce with the aliens," Ichigo said. "That, and Ryou has disappeared."

"Ryou disappeared?" Shintaro asked. "Why?"

"Because we formed a truce," Ichigo said. "Ryou hates the aliens, and when I told him my plan for a truce, he attacked all of us. Lettuce and Pai defeated him."

"Pai?" Shintaro asked.

Pai said, "That's me. And these are my brothers, Kisshu, and Taruto."

"Wait, aren't you the aliens who were attacking Tokyo?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, but thanks to Ichigo, we've decided that cooperation is better," Pai said. "We were attacking in order to create a place where our people could live, but to be honest, it might not have worked out anyways; this planet is pretty polluted."

"So when did you decide to start cooperating?" Shintaro asked.

"Dad, remember I was sick when you left?" Ichigo asked.

"Um… yeah…" Shintaro said.

"Well, Kisshu found out I was sick, and took care of me," Ichigo said. "Then he got sick, and while I was taking care of him, I suggested that we set up peace talks, in order to stop the fighting, which wasn't really going anywhere. He thought that was a good idea, and when he got better, we went and talked to Pai and Taruto, who also agreed. In fact, the only one who didn't agree was Ryou. Ryou started yelling at us, and then Kisshu said that if he wanted to fight, he could fight him, and the rest of us could watch."

"But if Kisshu was the one fighting, why did Pai and Lettuce defeat him?" Shintaro asked.

"Ryou managed to throw me headfirst onto the floor, and I got knocked out," Kisshu explained.

Ichigo continued, "I kicked Ryou…. Um… where it hurts, but he pulled out a knife. Then Lettuce grabbed the sword I gave her when I went to protect Kisshu, and managed to send the knife flying, and then Pai knocked Ryou out, and Keiichiro tied him up."

"So how did he escape?" Sakura asked.

"Well, Keiichiro might know, since I was on the Cyniclon's ship, taking care of Kisshu, who had a concussion from being thrown on the floor," Ichigo said.

"I actually don't know how he escaped, but he left a note saying he was coming back to kill the Cyniclons," Keiichiro said.

"Is there anything else we should know?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, actually," Pai said. "We've got a problem. Ever since Kisshu got that concussion, he's been having nightmares, that we think might be more like premonitions. In the dream, he sees Ichigo being killed by the Blue Knight. We're getting worried, because it happens every time he sleeps. Today, he actually went into a trance for some reason, and judging by what he was screaming, he was having the dream again. If this keeps up, it could affect his health."

"And what does this have to do with us?" Shintaro asked.

"The only times he can sleep without having the nightmare is when I sleep with him," Ichigo said.

Shintaro started getting a death aura, which, strangely, didn't intimidate Ichigo. Then Shintaro said in a dangerous voice, "You've been _sleeping _with him?"

"Yes," Ichigo said. "Jeez, don't you trust me at all? I wouldn't have sex with him or anything like that! We were just sleeping."

Shintaro started sputtering, until Sakura put a hand on his shoulder, and said, "Ichigo's old enough to make decisions," she said firmly. "You should have more faith in her. We both raised her to make the right decisions, and to think for herself. If you baby her forever, how will she learn about the real world? If this is the only way to help Kisshu, then so be it. I will support Ichigo in her decision to help him. Now the question is: Will you?"

Shintaro was now speechless. Finally he got his voice back, and said, "I guess you're right…." in a very defeated tone of voice.

Ichigo felt like jumping for joy, but instead, she said, "Thanks for supporting me, Mom, Dad."

"Of course, sweetie, we're your parents," Sakura said with a smile.

Ichigo smiled back.

**Bad chapter ending, I know. Please Review. Next chapter coming tomorrow!**


	11. Decisions

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 11:**

**Decisions**

Now that Ichigo's parents had agreed to Ichigo sleeping with Kisshu, they had to figure out how this was going to work. Sakura had suggested Kisshu live with them, and maybe go to Ichigo's school, but Pai pointed out that if Kisshu went into another trance, that might cause problems at school. Ichigo suggested that she go back to living with Kisshu, Pai and Taruto, but this went down badly with Shintaro, who almost started ranting again, and pointed out that Ichigo still needed to go to school.

Pai had the idea that Ichigo's parents could get the schoolwork from the school, and he could just teleport it to Ichigo if she was living with them. Shintaro asked what to tell the school, which stumped Pai, because saying Ichigo was sick might not work after a while.

Finally, and to everyone's surprise, Taruto said, "Well, we know that Ryou wants to kill us, right?" Everyone nodded. Taruto continued, "If you guys tell the school that Ryou is actually out to get Ichigo and you sent her away for her safety, then maybe the school wouldn't mind having to send work to you. Then we could get the work, and Ichigo could live with us."

"That's an idea," Pai said. "It would also protect all of us, since if you tell the school that Ichigo's been sent away for her own protection, the police might get involved. If Ryou goes to jail, we'll all be safe."

"But what will we tell the police, and what about the note?" Sakura asked.

"I could say that the note was left on Ryou's computer, and that I printed it out," Keiichiro suggested. "Then we could make up what he said, and the police wouldn't suspect a thing."

"What if they need to talk to Ichigo?" Shintaro asked.

"I'll have my cell phone, so they can call me," Ichigo said.

"Okay, I think we can make this work," Sakura said. "Ichigo, you should pack some clothes and things, if you're going to be living somewhere else."

"Oh, I know," Ichigo said. "Kisshu, want to come?"

"Sure!" Kisshu said. He took her hand and teleported. They landed in Ichigo's room, but Kisshu stumbled again. Ichigo steadied him, and said, "Kisshu, maybe you should sit down."

Kisshu sat on Ichigo's bed, and watched her pack her stuff while he waited for his head to stop spinning.

Soon Ichigo was done, and she closed the suitcase. Then she looked at Kisshu and said, "I'm going to call Lettuce and see if Pai's still there. I think he should come get us; you're not looking too good."

"I'll be fine," Kisshu said.

"Are you sure?" Ichigo asked, worried.

"Yeah," Kisshu said. Ichigo picked up her suitcase, still a bit unsure, but Kisshu took her hand and teleported before she could say anything else. They landed in the main room of Café Mew Mew- and Kisshu collapsed. Ichigo caught him as the others came over, worried.

"I'm guessing he teleported while he was still dizzy, right?" Pai said.

"I tried to tell him that he shouldn't teleport, but he teleported before I had the chance," Ichigo said.

"Well, at least you ended up where you were supposed to," Pai said. "I guess we'd better get Kisshu back to the ship. Are you all packed?"

"Hai," Ichigo said. Then she turned to her parents. "I'll see you soon," she said. Then she hugged both of them, and said, "I have to go, so this is goodbye for a while."

"We understand," Sakura said. "Bye!"

Shintaro hugged Ichigo again and said, "No funny stuff, got it?"

"Yes, Dad, I wasn't planning on it anyways," Ichigo sighed.

Pai, meanwhile, had picked up Kisshu, and now he said, "Taruto, you're teleporting Ichigo."

Taruto nodded, and took Ichigo's hand. Then they teleported out.

They arrived in the main room of the ship, and Pai said, "Ichigo, follow me. Taruto, you're free to do what you want, as long as it's not anywhere near my lab."

Ichigo giggled. Taruto looked at her strangely, so she said, "I went to Pai's lab the other day and knocked, and he thought I was you, so he started shouting at me."

Pai turned red as Taruto said, "Wow. At least he didn't blast you with his fan."

"Yeah, that's good," Ichigo said.

"I'm going to go back to Earth to see Pudding," Taruto said. "See you later!"

"Bye," Ichigo said. Then she followed Pai to Kisshu's room. Pai put Kisshu down on his bed, and Ichigo pulled a blanket over him. Then she sat down next to him as Pai teleported out.

Three hours later, Kisshu woke up. "What happened?" he asked.

"Well, you managed to teleport to Café Mew Mew, but then you blacked out," Ichigo said. "I guess you weren't really in good enough shape to teleport after all."

"I guess you were right. Sorry," Kisshu said. "I'm still pretty dizzy. I'm also kind of feeling sick."

Ichigo looked worried. "If you feel sick, maybe you should go to the bathroom," she said. "And don't teleport."

Kisshu got out of bed and went to the bathroom, which was right next door, luckily. A minute later, Ichigo heard him throw up. He left the door open, so she went in and started rubbing his back. When he was finished, he said, "I really don't feel good…"

"I can see that," Ichigo said. She put a hand on his forehead, then sighed and said, "You've got a fever. I think you're coming down with something."

Kisshu opened his mouth to say something, but started coughing instead, and turned away from Ichigo.

When he stopped coughing, Ichigo asked, "Can you get up? You should go back to bed."

"I don't really think I can get up," Kisshu said. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Ichigo said. "I'll help you." She helped Kisshu to his feet, and helped him walk back to his room. He laid down on the bed, but said, "What are we going to do? I wouldn't ask you to sleep with me when I'm sick."

"I'll still be here," Ichigo said. "I just won't be in the same bed, that's all."

"O-okay," Kisshu said. Then he said, "My stomach doesn't feel good again. I'm still dizzy, too."

"Can you keep from throwing up for a few minutes? I saw a bucket in the bathroom," Ichigo said.

"I'll do my best," Kisshu said.

Ichigo nodded and ran to get the bucket. She came back and put it next to the bed, and Kisshu said, "Thanks, Koneko-chan…." Then he threw up again. Finally he lay back, and said, "I'm tired…."

"Go to sleep," Ichigo said. "I'm going to tell Pai that you're sick, but I'll be right back."

Kisshu nodded, and Ichigo left. She went to Pai's lab, and knocked, then shouted, "I'm not Taruto, just so you know!"

Pai came out and said, "Thanks for the clarification. What's up?"

"Kisshu's come down with something," Ichigo said. "He's got a fever, and he's so dizzy it's causing him to throw up."

"Not good," Pai said. "I'll come have a look." He followed Ichigo back to Kisshu's room, and walked over to the bed. Kisshu was asleep, but he didn't look too good. His face was flushed, and as Pai and Ichigo watched, he started coughing, which woke him up.

"Pai?" he asked weakly.

"Yeah," Pai said. "Looks like you're pretty sick."

"Yeah, I feel awful," Kisshu said. "At least my stomach doesn't feel as bad. I think it only feels bad when I move around too much."

"I guess you shouldn't be moving around too much, then," Pai said. "I see that Ichigo put a bucket next to your bed, so that's good." He turned to Ichigo. "Ichigo, will you stay with Kisshu until he's better?" Pai asked.

"Of course," Ichigo said. "I can't sleep with him, but I'll stay in the room."

"Good," Pai said. "I'm going to go get some of our fever medication."

"Okay," Ichigo said, ignoring Kisshu's groan.

Pai left, then came back with the fever medicine, and gave Kisshu a spoonful. "Get some sleep, and don't push yourself," Pai advised. "Ichigo and I will be here if you need us."

"Thanks," Kisshu said, falling back to sleep.

When he was sound asleep, Pai said softly, "I'll be in and out, and you can call me if you or Kisshu need anything. I don't think it's a good idea for you to be out of the room too much. I think that you should probably eat somewhere else, in case the smell of food makes Kisshu feel worse, so tell me if you need to eat, and I'll watch Kisshu."

"Will do, Pai," Ichigo said. Pai nodded and left.

Ichigo was still sitting next to Kisshu two hours later. He hadn't stirred, but it didn't seem like he was having nightmares, either, since he wasn't screaming. Ichigo took that as a good sign, and kept watching him.

Half an hour later, Kisshu finally woke up. Ichigo noticed and said, "How are you feeling?"

"Not great," Kisshu admitted. "I have a headache." He started to sit up, but Ichigo pushed him back down gently.

"Remember what happened the last time you tried to get up?" she asked in response to Kisshu's questioning look.

"Oh… right…" Kisshu said. He settled back down. "I'm thirsty," he said.

"Pai brought a pitcher of water in here, so is water okay?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, water's fine, thanks," Kisshu said.

Ichigo poured him a glass of water, and helped him drink it. She put the glass aside when Kisshu was finished, and said, "Get some more rest, you need it to recover."

Kisshu looked a bit nervous, but nodded. Then he put a hand to his head. "That made my headache worse," he said. He settled down against the pillows, and was asleep soon after.

It was getting late, so Ichigo pulled the blankets over Kisshu, then got out her sleeping bag and laid it out next to Kisshu's bed. She climbed into it and was asleep soon after.

**Another bad chapter ending. And I know this story is getting to be more like 'Kisshu's Illness' than 'Ichigo's Illness', but I'm trying to think up more action, while incorporating Kisshu's nightmare in somehow. So, I'm sorry Kisshu got sick again, but it's only because I couldn't think of what else to do. Plz don't flame me!**


	12. Nightmares

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 12:**

**Nightmares**

The next morning, Ichigo woke up and was somewhat surprised, because Kisshu hadn't screamed at all. _Maybe the nightmares are starting to go away, _she thought. She walked over to the bed, and put a gentle hand on Kisshu's forehead. Then she sighed. He still had a fever.

Ichigo pulled a chair next to the bed again, and waited for Kisshu to wake up. This time, however, she didn't have to wait long. Suddenly, Kisshu's eyes snapped open, and he sat bolt upright. He didn't seem to see Ichigo, until she said, "Kisshu, what did I tell you about sitting up?"

Then he seemed to notice her, but he looked scared. Ichigo was worried, but said, "Kisshu, did you have another nightmare?"

"Ichigo? You're alive?" Kisshu asked. Suddenly he groaned and clutched his head. Then he turned over in bed and threw up into the bucket.

Ichigo rubbed his back until he stopped, but got worried when Kisshu turned back to her. Kisshu was whiter than paper. He looked scared, so Ichigo said, "I'm fine, Kisshu. But you're not. You really shouldn't sit up until you're better."

"Sorry," Kisshu said weakly. "I had the dream again. But this time, it started where it left off last time, and I saw more."

"What did you see?" Ichigo asked.

"You started to attack me, and I kept dodging your attacks. Suddenly you went back to normal, and looked confused. You asked me what was going on, and I said I didn't know. Then I looked around, and the surroundings changed from some empty space to a forest. The Blue Knight and Ryou came out of the trees, both holding swords. Ryou then said, "You both are going to die, now that the Blue Knight is under my control." Then he and the Blue Knight both attacked us, and that's about when I woke up," Kisshu said.

"I'm thinking Pai should hear this too," Ichigo said. "Are you okay on your own until I bring him back, or should I just call him?"

"I think I'll be fine," Kisshu said.

"Okay," Ichigo said. She was worried, but she still went to find Pai. She knocked on the door of his lab, and he came out.

"Ichigo, did something happen? You look worried," Pai said.

"Kisshu had another nightmare, and he saw more," Ichigo said. "I think you should come hear what he saw."

"Okay, let's go," Pai said. "Can Kisshu sit up yet?"

"Not without throwing up from the dizziness," Ichigo said. "I told him not to sit up anymore yesterday, but he was scared this morning when he woke up, so he sat up anyways, and then he threw up again."

"I hope you didn't have to clean up," Pai said.

"No, he made it to the bucket," Ichigo said. "He's still got a fever, though, and when he was done throwing up, he was white as a sheet. I'm getting really worried about him."

"Sounds like I was right, and the nightmares might be affecting his health," Pai said grimly.

They reached Kisshu's room and went in. Kisshu was still awake, but he was also still white as a sheet. "Hey Pai," Kisshu said.

"Kisshu, tell me what you saw," Pai said.

Kisshu sighed, but told Pai what he had told Ichigo. After he finished, Pai actually looked scared. "If this were to come true, that would be bad," he said finally. "Ryou in charge of the Blue Knight would spell disaster for all of us. However, I don't think either you or Ichigo will die. I think that that part of the dream is just from your own fears about any battle that involves Ichigo, Kisshu."

"I certainly hope so," Kisshu said. "But why do you think Ryou would be able to command the Blue Knight?"

"I'm not sure," Pai admitted. "It's possible that Deep Blue could control both of them, though. If Ryou's bent on revenge on the Mews as well as us, Deep Blue could easily take control of him."

"But I thought that he could only take over the treehugger," Kisshu said.

"Deep Blue can basically take over anyone, but Aoyama is the only one who can give him real power," Pai said.

"Great…" Kisshu said, then suddenly started coughing.

Pai and Ichigo exchanged worried glances. Kisshu was still very pale, and the cough looked like it hurt him. Finally Kisshu stopped coughing, and Pai said, "Kisshu, I'm going to use my powers to see what's wrong."

"Okay," Kisshu said.

Pai came over and put a hand on Kisshu's chest. His hand began to glow. Finally he said, "This isn't too good."

"Wh-what's wrong?" Ichigo asked, scared.

Pai took his hand off Kisshu's chest, and said, "The nightmares are making Kisshu sick. On top of that, his concussion isn't fully healed, and that's what's causing the dizziness. I can take care of the concussion now, but the nightmares are a whole different issue."

"Can you take care of the concussion, then?" Ichigo asked. "The less Kisshu has to deal with, the better."

"Hai," Pai said. "Kisshu, I need to put you to sleep, okay?" Kisshu nodded, and Pai put a hand on his forehead. Soon Kisshu was fast asleep, and Pai put his other hand on Kisshu's chest. Both his hands began to glow. Finally Pai took his hands away and took a deep breath. "Okay, that should do it," he told Ichigo. "He needs to sleep off the healing, so I suggest you come do something else for a while. You haven't eaten in a while anyways, have you?"

"I guess not," Ichigo said. "I completely forgot. I was too worried about Kisshu."

"Let's go to the kitchen, and you can get something," Pai said. "I'd get you something, but Taruto's here right now, and he panics every time I say I'm going to cook something."

"Thanks for the offer, Pai," Ichigo said with a smile. "At least with all the time my parents spend away from home, I'm pretty good in the kitchen."

"Why do your parents leave you alone so much?" Pai asked.

"I'm guessing it's so I can learn to fend for myself," Ichigo said. "They didn't do it at all when I was younger. I was born too early, and when I was a baby, my parents had to be really careful, because I wasn't very strong. I got stronger as I got older, but my dad just doesn't see that. My mom does, and she's got my dad wrapped around her little finger, which is the only reason he goes out with her so much. As time's gone on, though, he's really gotten into all the cruises and trips Mom plans, and they leave me alone a lot. But always with a note that says, "No boys.""

"So you don't mind being alone?" Pai asked.

"I do sometimes, but it's not that bad," Ichigo said. "I can eat what I like, and I don't have my dad breathing down my neck about boys. I don't like the long list of chores, but that's life."

They had reached the kitchen, and Ichigo said, "Do you have cheese?"

"Sure, we've got cheddar, Swiss, and some weird thing Taruto found called 'Parmesan'," Pai said. "But the parmesan is powder, so we're not sure if it's really cheese."

"Oh, that just means that the cheese has been grated up," Ichigo said. "It's good cheese, but I think I'd rather have cheddar. Do you have mayonnaise and bread?"

"Yeah," Pai said. "Do you need anything else?"

"No, that's about it for grilled cheese," Ichigo said.

"'Grilled' cheese?" Pai asked.

"You basically make a cheese sandwich and then toast the whole thing in a pan," Ichigo said. "It's really good, do you want one too?"

"Sure, if you don't mind," Pai said. "How about making one for Kisshu too?"

"Good plan," Ichigo said. "What about Taruto?"

"He's on Earth again," Pai said. "He's really attached to Pudding."

"Good," Ichigo said. "Pudding's always wanted Taruto to return her feelings, and she got her wish."

"I'm glad," Pai said. "I wish I could spend more time with Lettuce though."

"I'm glad you have feelings for her," Ichigo said. "Lettuce was the only one who tried to convince Ryou that you couldn't possibly be all bad, you know. She really loves you. She had a crush on Ryou at first, but as I'm sure you heard her say, that dried up after Ryou kept saying how awful you were."

"Wow, I didn't know she was trying to convince everyone that we weren't all bad," Pai said. "That's impressive."

"Kisshu thought you'd say that," Ichigo said. "He was impressed too."

"I was surprised at how defensive she got when Ryou pulled a knife on you," Pai said.

"I think we were all pretty shocked by that," Ichigo said. "I've never seen Lettuce really get mad at anyone, much less attack them with a sword."

By this point, Ichigo was finished making the grilled cheese, so she said, "Okay, the grilled cheese is ready, so let's eat. I made one for Kisshu too."

"Okay, great," Pai said. "Thanks, Ichigo."

"Sure," Ichigo said. She sat down at the kitchen table after handing Pai his sandwich, and started eating hers. She was done well before Pai, and she said, "Wow, I didn't realize how hungry I was."

"Well, it's been about a day and a half since we came here, and you haven't eaten since," Pai said. "You must have been really worried, to not notice that you were hungry during that whole time."

"I was," Ichigo said, her smile fading. "I don't want anything else to happen to Kisshu, but it looks like the nightmares have a mind of their own."

"We should go see how he's doing," Pai said. "I'll get the sandwich." He picked up the plate with Kisshu's sandwich, and followed Ichigo back to Kisshu's room, where Kisshu was starting to wake up. When he saw them, he said, "I'm not dizzy anymore." Some color had come back to his face.

"That's good to hear," Pai said. "Can you sit up? Ichigo made you a sandwich."

"I'll try," Kisshu said. He slowly pushed himself up, and soon he was sitting up. "Well, this is good, I don't feel dizzy when I sit up," he said. "Ichigo, you made me a sandwich?"

"Yeah, I made grilled cheese," Ichigo said. "Do you want it?"

"Sure, thanks!" Kisshu said. Ichigo handed him the plate, and he took it, then ate the sandwich in four bites.

"Kisshu, are you sure you should eat that fast?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm HUNGRY," Kisshu said.

Ichigo sighed. "Let's just hope eating that fast doesn't make you sick later," she said. "How are you feeling? You said you're not dizzy anymore, right?"

"I'm not dizzy, but I still don't feel that great," Kisshu admitted. "Do I still have a fever?"

Ichigo put a hand on his forehead and said, "Yeah, you do. Maybe you should take more of the medicine."

"Good idea," Pai said, as Kisshu groaned.

"I hate that stuff," Kisshu said.

"I know, but if you want to get better, you have to take it," Ichigo said as Pai teleported out to find the medicine. She sat down on the bed next to Kisshu, and put her arms around him. He rested his head on her shoulders, and sighed.

"I wish I could get better," Kisshu said. "I don't like staying in bed all day."

"We have to find some way to get rid of the nightmares first," Ichigo said. "Even if you do get out of bed, last time you went into a trance and had the nightmare again. Then we had to put you back to bed."

"I know," Kisshu said. "I wish the nightmares would go away, and then maybe I'd get better. You said the nightmares are what's making me sick, right?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said. "At least you don't have a concussion anymore."

"Yeah," Kisshu said. "Hey, Pai's not back yet. I wonder what happened?"

"He probably just got sidetracked," Ichigo said. "Either that or he wanted to give us some time alone."

"I guess…" Kisshu said.

Suddenly Pai teleported back in and said "Okay, I got the medicine, and I came up with an idea about the nightmares." He poured some medicine onto a spoon, and held it out to Kisshu, who swallowed it.

"So what's your idea, Pai?" Ichigo asked.

"I was thinking that Deep Blue might be the cause of these nightmares," Pai said.

"But if these nightmares are premonitions, why would Deep Blue send them?" Kisshu asked. "He wouldn't really gain anything from giving me warning of what could happen."

"But the nightmares are making you sick," Pai said. "If you're sick, you can't fight, and I'm sure Deep Blue knows that. You're the strongest out of all of us, and he knows that too. If he wants to defeat us, he knows that he needs you out of the way."

"So what should we do?" Kisshu asked. "Is there any way to make the nightmares stop?"

"I'd have to run a few tests on you, but maybe," Pai said. "Can you stand? We need to go to the lab."

"I'll try," Kisshu said. He put his feet on the floor, and slowly stood up. He was pretty shaky, and Ichigo came over to steady him.

"I'll help you walk, Kisshu," Ichigo said.

"Thanks, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said.

Pai started to walk out, and Ichigo followed, supporting Kisshu. She had to go slow, but Kisshu was able to stay upright, at least. Finally they reached the lab. Pai was already there, setting stuff up. He looked up as they came in, and said, "Okay, the equipment I need is ready. Kisshu, come sit down over here."

Ichigo helped Kisshu to the chair Pai had pointed out. Kisshu sat down, and Pai said, "Okay, I need to put you to sleep again, so just relax."

Kisshu looked a bit nervous, but calmed down when Ichigo took his hand and said, "I'll be right here, Kisshu."

Pai then put his hand on Kisshu's forehead, and soon Kisshu was asleep. Pai then took a wire out of the machine next to the chair, and attached it to Kisshu's forehead. Then he went back to the machine and began typing. Suddenly the machine beeped, and Pai looked closely at something Ichigo couldn't see. His eyes widened, and he whispered, "That's what's going on…"

"What is it, Pai?" Ichigo asked.

**What is it? Review and find out!**


	13. The Truth Revealed

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 13:**

**The Truth Revealed**

Pai looked up and said, "Deep Blue somehow implanted the nightmares into Kisshu's mind, in order to make him sick, and eventually, even kill him. I've pinpointed where the nightmares are coming from, and I think I can get rid of them. It's not going to be easy, and Kisshu probably won't be feeling too great afterwards, but at least the nightmares will go away."

"Do you need me to do anything?" Ichigo asked.

"I just need you to stay with Kisshu," Pai said. "Extracting the nightmares from his mind is probably going to be painful for him."

"O-okay," Ichigo said.

Pai nodded, and went back to the machine. He started typing again, and then said, "Okay, I'm ready." He pushed a button, and the wire attached to Kisshu's forehead began to glow. Suddenly it looked like the glow was moving. Ichigo assumed that the glow was the nightmares being extracted, but she remained silent. Suddenly Kisshu screamed, and Pai said, "If he starts moving, I need you to hold him down, Ichigo."

Ichigo nodded, just as Kisshu started to shake. Strangely, he didn't seem to be waking up. Ichigo grabbed his shoulders as he started thrashing around, and held him down so hard she completely immobilized him. Then Kisshu screamed again, and tears ran down his face. Ichigo kept holding him, even though by this point she was crying too. Finally, Ichigo heard a beep behind her, and Kisshu started to relax.

Pai sighed, and said, "I'm finished. Move over, I'm going to take the wire out and wake him up."

Ichigo let go of Kisshu, and moved aside. Pai took the wire off of Kisshu's forehead, and set it aside. Then he tapped Kisshu on the forehead twice.

As Ichigo and Pai watched, Kisshu opened his eyes and looked at them. "What happened?" he asked. His voice was weak and sounded like he was in pain.

"I figured out where the nightmares were coming from and extracted them from your mind," Pai said. "You shouldn't have nightmares anymore."

"That's great!" Kisshu said. "But why do I feel awful?"

"The process I used was pretty hard on your body," Pai said. "Unfortunately, that was the only way to get rid of the nightmares. You're going to need to rest for a while, until your body recovers."

Kisshu sighed, but said, "Thanks for getting rid of the nightmares, Pai."

"You're welcome, Kisshu," Pai said. "Let's get you back to your room."

"I don't think I can walk anymore," Kisshu admitted.

"That's to be expected," Pai said. "I'll carry you. Teleporting you in that condition will make things worse."

"Okay," Kisshu said. Pai picked Kisshu up and walked to his room, followed by Ichigo. Once there, Pai put Kisshu down on the bed, and pulled a blanket over him. Then he put one hand on Kisshu's forehead. "You don't have a fever, so that's good," Pai said. "You should get some sleep, it'll help."

Kisshu sighed, then turned to Ichigo and said, "Will you be here?"

"Of course, I would never leave you," Ichigo said. "Go to sleep, I'll be right here next to you."

Pai left as Kisshu settled back and went to sleep. Ichigo sat down in a chair to watch over him.

Seven hours later, Kisshu was still asleep, and Ichigo couldn't keep her eyes open, so she got into the sleeping bag she brought from home and went to sleep herself.

The next morning when she woke up, she saw that Kisshu was still asleep. Then she realized she hadn't taken a shower in about three days, and decided to take a quick one while Kisshu was asleep. She quickly grabbed some clothes, and went to the bathroom, then took a shower. Ten minutes later, she was done, so she went back to Kisshu's room. She put the clothes she had been wearing aside, and went to sit next to Kisshu again. He was sleeping much more peacefully than he had been, and Ichigo took that as a good sign.

An hour later, Kisshu started to wake up. Ichigo noticed, and when it looked like he was fully awake, she asked, "Kisshu, how are you feeling?"

"Still awful," Kisshu said. "My whole body aches, and my head feels like it's been split open. My stomach doesn't feel great, either."

"Well, that bucket is still next to your bed," Ichigo said. "Don't try to get up yet, okay?"

"Yeah… I don't think I have the strength to get up anyways," Kisshu said. "I'm also feeling pretty weak."

"I'll do my best to help you get through this," Ichigo said.

"Thanks, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said. Then he said, "I think I'm going to be sick…" He turned over, and threw up into the bucket. Ichigo rubbed his back until he finished.

Kisshu turned back over and said, "My stomach really doesn't feel good. I don't think I'll be able to eat for a while."

"Do you know if you have ginger ale in the kitchen? That can help with upset stomachs," Ichigo said.

"Maybe…." Kisshu said.

"Do you think you'll be okay on your own until I find out?" Ichigo asked.

"I think so," Kisshu said.

Ichigo smoothed her hand over his hair, and went to the kitchen. Pai was there, and he looked up as she came in. "What's up?" he asked.

"Kisshu's stomach is pretty upset, and I was wondering if you had ginger ale," Ichigo asked.

"I think there's some in the cabinet," Pai said. "It hasn't been opened yet, though."

"That's fine," Ichigo said. She went and got the ginger ale, and took it back to Kisshu's room with a glass.

Kisshu looked up as she came in, and said, "Did you find it?"

"Yep," Ichigo said. She poured a glass and said, "Don't drink too fast, or you'll get sick again."

Kisshu nodded, and slowly drank the ginger ale. Halfway through, he said, "I'm not really thirsty anymore."

"Okay," Ichigo said. She took the glass from him, and set it on the bedside table. "Maybe you should get some more sleep," Ichigo suggested.

"I'm not really tired," Kisshu said. "And my head hurts way too much for me to get any sleep. Would you mind asking Pai if he has headache medicine? I don't think I can get up."

"Sure," Ichigo said. "Just take it easy, and I'll be back soon."

"Okay," Kisshu said.

Ichigo smiled at him and left. She went to Pai's lab, and knocked. No one answered. She knocked louder, and still no response. _Maybe he's still in the kitchen, _Ichigo thought. She went to the kitchen, and instead of Pai, she found a note saying _Ichigo, I went to Earth. I'll be back soon, so call my cell phone if there's a problem. _Beneath the writing was a number.

Ichigo sighed. _He probably went to see Lettuce, _she thought. _I don't want to disturb him, but maybe I should. _Making up her mind, she dialed the number into her cell phone, and waited. Unfortunately, she got Pai's voicemail. When she heard the tone, she said, "Pai, this is Ichigo. Kisshu was wondering if you had headache medicine, he's got a really bad headache, and says he can't sleep because of it. Give me a call when you get this, please." She gave her phone number, and hung up. Then she went back to Kisshu.

Kisshu looked up when she came in, and said, "Did you find him?"

"No, he's apparently on Earth," Ichigo said. "I left a message on his cell phone, so hopefully we'll hear something soon. Can you manage until then?"

"I guess," Kisshu said. "I think the headache's causing me to get sick, though. I think I'm going to be sick again." He turned over, and threw up again. Ichigo rubbed his back till he was done.

"I have an idea, wait a minute," Ichigo said when Kisshu turned back to her. She got up and went to the bathroom, then took out a washcloth and soaked it in ice water, then wrung it out and went back to Kisshu's room. She went over to him and put the cloth over his forehead. Then she pulled the blankets over him more firmly.

Kisshu sighed and said, "That feels _good_."

Ichigo smiled and said, "I'm glad."

Kisshu yawned and said, "I'm sleepy…"

"Go to sleep, I'll be right here," Ichigo said. Kisshu settled back down and was asleep soon after.

About half an hour later, Pai teleported in, looking worried. He started to say something, but Ichigo held a finger to her lips. Pai said in a soft voice, "He's asleep?"

"Yeah, I put a cool cloth on his forehead, and it seemed to help," Ichigo said in an equally quiet voice.

"Good job," Pai said. "I'll go get the medicine for later." He teleported out, and returned a few minutes later with a small brown bottle. "Give him a spoonful of this when he wakes up," Pai told Ichigo. "I'll be in and out."

"Okay," Ichigo said. Pai nodded and left.

Two hours later, Kisshu woke up. Ichigo said, "Pai's back, and he said that I should give you a spoonful of the headache medicine."

"Good," Kisshu said. "My headache is back, and I think it's worse, though that cloth thing worked for a while."

"I'll give you the medicine, then," Ichigo said. She poured some onto a spoon, and fed it to Kisshu. He swallowed, then sighed.

"I think that stuff tastes worse than the fever stuff," he said. "I hope it's worth it."

"So do I," Ichigo said. "Aside from the headache, how are you feeling?"

"I still feel pretty weak, but the pain in the rest of my body is mainly gone," Kisshu said. "My stomach doesn't feel any better, though."

"Do you want more ginger ale?" Ichigo asked.

"Sure," Kisshu said. "It helped for a little while last time."

Ichigo picked up the half-full glass, and helped Kisshu drink it slowly. When he finished, Ichigo said, "You should sleep some more."

Kisshu settled back against the pillows, and slept. Ichigo was getting tired too, so she went to sleep as well.

The next day, Kisshu was feeling better, though he was still unable to sit up. He said his stomach felt fine, so Ichigo made some soup for him. His headache hadn't gone away yet, but it was better than yesterday.

As the days passed, Kisshu got stronger. By the end of the week, he could stand up, although he still needed help walking. Ichigo helped him whenever he needed it, and he was really grateful to her.

By the middle of the next week, Kisshu was almost back to full strength. He could fly again, but teleporting still was hard on his body. However, he got better at it every day, and soon after the second week was done, he could teleport just fine. As soon as he was back to full strength, he went back to training.

One day Ichigo asked if he would mind teaching her how to use swords, too. His reply was, "I'd love to, Koneko-chan!"

From then on, Ichigo and Kisshu started training together. Ichigo's cat reflexes came in handy with sword work, and she was a quick learner.

This was lucky, because unbeknownst to them, trouble was coming.

**Boring chapter with a cliffie. I know, I'm horrible. I should have another chapter up today though. Until then, REVIEW!**


	14. Trouble

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 14:**

**Trouble**

About a week after Kisshu started teaching Ichigo how to use a sword, Pai received a call from Keiichiro, and called the others in to listen. As soon as everyone was gathered in front of Pai's computer, Keiichiro said, "We have a problem. As you suggested, we told the police and the school that Ichigo was sent away to live with friends until Ryou was found. They believed us, thank goodness, but they couldn't find Ryou anywhere. We believed he left Tokyo- until two days ago."

"What happened two days ago?" Kisshu asked.

"Well, apparently someone spotted Ryou, and called the police," Keiichiro said. "The police came, and managed to get there before Ryou got away, but according to the report the policeman who actually came back gave, Ryou pulled out a long sword seemingly out of thin air, and attacked them. The policeman claims a man who looked similar to the aliens, except with blond hair and blue eyes, appeared out of nowhere, and attacked as well. Together they defeated every single police officer, except this one guy, who, for some reason, they left alive. By that point, though, the man they left alive was basically in shock, and Ryou and the other guy, who I'm certain is the Blue Knight, got away clean."

"What happened to the other officers?" Ichigo asked.

Keiichiro looked grim as he said, "They're all dead. It's almost as if Ryou wanted to make sure the police knew what happened- like he was taunting them. That's probably why he left the one officer alive."

"Did either Ryou or the Blue Knight say anything?" Pai asked.

"The Blue Knight didn't, but Ryou told the police officer he spared that he wouldn't let anyone get in the way of his ultimate goal," Keiichiro said. "Believe me, that wasn't great for anyone. Since I'm the one who knows Ryou best, the police spent the last hour questioning me on his motives. I couldn't tell them about the aliens, so I had to just tell them about his anger about Ichigo's rejection. Unfortunately, I don't exactly know what he meant by 'ultimate goal' either."

"We might have an answer to that," Pai said. "One of Kisshu's nightmares suggested to me that Deep Blue might think to control Ryou. Then the Blue Knight would be under his control."

"That reminds me," Keiichiro said. "Kisshu, how are you doing?"

"I'm a lot better," Kisshu said. "Pai got rid of the nightmares, and I'm back to full strength."

"Wonderful," Keiichiro said with relief. "But how did Pai manage to get rid of the nightmares?"

"I found out that Deep Blue had implanted them into Kisshu's mind somehow, and I managed to extract them using one of my machines," Pai said.

"That's great," Keiichiro said. Then he said, "Ichigo, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine," Ichigo said. "Kisshu's teaching me how to use a sword."

"That's good," Keiichiro said. "Oh, I almost forgot, your parents say hi, and were wondering if they could visit you."

"Well, I say hi back, but it's up to Kisshu, Pai and Taruto if they get to come," Ichigo said. "It's not like I can teleport."

"It's fine with me if they come to visit," Pai said. Kisshu and Taruto nodded. "We have to come get them, though, so when should we do that?"

"If I call them up now, will you come to the Café?" Keiichiro asked.

"Sure," Pai said. "Taruto will come too."

"I will?" Taruto asked.

"Yes, unless you'd rather keep Ichigo company," Pai said.

"NOOOOO! I'll come, I'll come," Taruto said.

Keiichiro chuckled slightly, and said, "I'll call them. See you soon!"

"Yup," said Pai, and he cut the connection.

Pai turned to Ichigo and Kisshu and said, "Taruto and I will teleport your parents here, Ichigo. Till then, you and Kisshu have fun, but don't go too far."

"You're starting to sound like my dad," Ichigo said.

"Mmph," Pai mumbled. Then he and Taruto teleported out.

"Let's go back to my room, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said.

"Okay," Ichigo said.

Kisshu took her hand and teleported. They arrived in Kisshu's room, and sat on the bed. "So what would you like to do until my parents get here?" Ichigo asked.

"What do you think?" Kisshu asked, smirking.

Ichigo sighed and said, "Kiss me?"

"YAY!" Kisshu said, and wrapped his arms around her, then kissed her. He was more gentle this time, to Ichigo's surprise. She kissed him back passionately, and wound her arms around his neck.

They finally broke apart for air, and looked at each other. Finally Ichigo got her breath back, and said, "You're a pretty good kisser, Kisshu."

"So are you, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said, smirking again. "I'm glad we're together."

"Me too," Ichigo said. "I love you much more than I loved that treehugger."

"Really?" Kisshu asked.

"Yep," Ichigo said. "I'm just sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"As long as you love me, that's all that matters," Kisshu said.

Ichigo hugged him and said, "I'll always love you, Kisshu."

Kisshu was about to hug her back when there was a knock on the door. Kisshu sighed and called, "Come in!"

Pai opened the door, and let Ichigo's parents in. "Ichigo! We're so glad to see you!" Sakura said.

"I'm glad to see you guys too," Ichigo said. "I missed you." She got up and hugged her parents.

When she let go, Sakura turned to Kisshu. "Kisshu, are you feeling better?" she asked.

Kisshu was a bit startled, but said, "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks. Ichigo's great at taking care of people."

Sakura smiled. Then she said, "Ichigo, do you know when you're coming home?"

"Not until Ryou is either dead or in jail," Ichigo said. "Besides, I'm supposed to be somewhere else right now; it would be bad if someone saw me in Tokyo. Then the police would know that you guys are lying to them. I can still come back as Mew Ichigo, but not as my regular self."

Sakura sighed, but didn't say anything else. Shintaro said, "Are you liking it here?"

"Yeah, I love living with Kisshu!" Ichigo said.

"Hey! What about us?" Taruto said.

"I don't see you much; you're always on Earth with Pudding, but Pai's nice too," Ichigo said.

Taruto's jaw dropped. "You think Pai is _nice?" _he asked.

"You don't?" Ichigo asked.

"NO!" Taruto said. "He blasts me out of his lab with his fan at least once a week, and he's completely emotionless!"

"He probably just doesn't want you spilling soda on his computer again," Ichigo said. "Besides, he has emotions, he just doesn't show them as much as the rest of us do."

"I only spilled soda on the computer _once_," Taruto said defensively.

"And how long did it take to fix it?" Ichigo asked.

"Two weeks…" Taruto said.

"See, that's why Pai doesn't want you in his lab," Ichigo said. She turned around, and saw Pai and Kisshu staring at her with identical expressions of shock.

"What?" she asked.

"Um… I never thought you would defend me like that, Ichigo," Pai said.

"Well, you're a friend, so why wouldn't I? And besides, if Lettuce likes you, you must be a pretty good person," Ichigo said. "I might get more defensive if Taruto- or anyone else for that matter- talked like that about Kisshu, though."

"So basically, I shouldn't insult my brothers at all when you're around," Taruto said.

"Not unless you want to be called Midget and get pinned to the ground while I tickle you to death," Ichigo said.

"AAARGH! NO TICKLING!" Taruto shouted, and teleported out.

"I think you scared him," Sakura commented.

"I'll apologize when he gets back," Ichigo said.

"You don't really need to," Kisshu said. "He's used to it. Apologizing will just scare him more."

"Okay!" Ichigo said cheerfully. Then she turned to her parents and said, "Did Keiichiro tell you about what Ryou did?"

"Yeah, and so did the police," Shintaro said. "We're supposed to be careful, since the police think that Ryou might try to get information out of us. I don't think that will happen, since Ryou doesn't know that we know about the Mews, but we'll be careful."

"Good, I don't want anything to happen to you," Ichigo said.

Her parents nodded, then Sakura said, "We have to get back. We'll miss you, Ichigo."

"I'll miss you too," Ichigo said, and hugged them both. Then Pai teleported them back to Earth, leaving Kisshu and Ichigo alone again.

**Well, part of Kisshu's nightmare came true. I need a few more ideas, so please PM me or review if you've got anything. I've already gotten a request to have Kisshu kill Ryou, so that will probably happen soon. Thanks to Pirate lass to Jack Sparrow for that idea!**


	15. This is a Problem

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 15:**

**This is a Problem….**

Ichigo and Kisshu were sitting in Kisshu's room when Pai came back and said, "Okay, I took your parents home. It's getting late, so maybe you should go to bed."

Kisshu grimaced and started to say something, but yawned instead. Ichigo yawned at exactly the same time. "I told you," Pai said.

"Fine… you were right…" Kisshu said. Pai teleported out, and Kisshu turned to Ichigo. "Where do you want to sleep?" he asked her.

"I'm too tired to think about it, I'll just sleep with you," Ichigo said.

Kisshu grinned and scooted over on the bed. Ichigo climbed in and snuggled up against Kisshu, much to his surprise and pleasure. She was asleep within minutes. Kisshu went to sleep soon after. However, at around midnight, Kisshu was woken up by Ichigo whimpering in her sleep. Suddenly she cried out, "Kisshu! Please- don't die on me! I'm sorry!"

This worried Kisshu; it seemed that Ichigo was having a nightmare. He started shaking her, and she slowly woke up, looking scared. Kisshu snapped his fingers, and the lights came on. Then he looked at Ichigo, who was shaking. "Kisshu? You're okay?" she asked.

"Yes," Kisshu said. "What did you see?"

"I-I was in a forest in Mew Form, and suddenly you were there, and you were covered in blood," Ichigo said. "I asked you what happened, and you said that I had attacked you. Then you collapsed, and that's about when I woke up."

Kisshu looked disturbed. "I think you might be having nightmares like I did," he said. "I don't know why, but it just doesn't feel right, somehow."

Ichigo looked scared. Kisshu noticed, and said, "I'll help you get through this, just like you did for me. We'll talk to Pai tomorrow, he's not a morning person. If we wake him up now, he'll blast us out the door and go straight back to sleep."

"O-okay," Ichigo said.

Kisshu said, "I'll be right here, so we should go back to sleep. I don't think you'll have the nightmare again tonight."

Ichigo nodded and laid back down. Kisshu wrapped his arms around her, and she started to relax. She hugged him back, and they fell back to sleep.

Kisshu turned out to be right; Ichigo didn't have the nightmare again that night. They both woke up the next morning, and after getting dressed, they went to see if Pai was up yet. They were in luck; Pai was in the kitchen.

"Pai, we've got a problem," Kisshu said when Pai looked at them. "Ichigo had a nightmare that sounded a lot like mine last night."

Pai looked worried. "That's bad," he said. "Deep Blue might want to get both of you out of the way. He probably knows that the Mews don't do too well without Ichigo, and if Kisshu's distracted, he'll have a better chance of getting defeated."

"Well, do you have any suggestions?" Kisshu asked.

"I think we should get rid of this problem as soon as possible, and that means using that machine again," Pai said. "I know it'll leave Ichigo in pretty bad shape, but that's the only way."

"Let's do it, then," Ichigo said. "I'd rather be sick than have those nightmares. I don't want to see Kisshu collapse like that again."

"Okay, let's go to the lab," Pai said. Kisshu and Ichigo followed him to the lab, and Ichigo sat down in the chair. Pai put a hand on her forehead, and soon she was sleeping. Pai noticed Kisshu was worried, and said, "Kisshu, keep calm. I need you to keep her from moving around after the process starts. Don't worry, you got better, so she will too."

Kisshu took a deep breath and nodded. Pai attached a wire to Ichigo's forehead, and started typing. Finally he pushed a button, and the wire began to glow. Soon after, Ichigo cried out, but didn't wake up. Kisshu noticed she was shaking, and held her down, right before she started thrashing around. Ichigo was still asleep, but it was obvious she was in pain, and Kisshu was on the verge of tears. Finally the machine gave a beep, and the wire stopped glowing. Ichigo stopped trying to break out of Kisshu's grip, and relaxed. Pai came over and took the wire off her forehead, then tapped her forehead twice.

Ichigo woke up, and said, "My whole body hurts."

"Well, I extracted the nightmares, so all that's left is for you to recover from the effects of the machine," Pai said.

"Okay," Ichigo said.

"Let's get you back to my room," Kisshu said. He picked her up, and carried her back to his room. Then he tucked her into his bed.

"Kisshu, where are you going to sleep?" Ichigo said.

"I can sleep in your sleeping bag, or I could sleep with you," Kisshu said. "I'd only sleep with you at night, though."

"That would be fine…" Ichigo said tiredly.

Kisshu noticed she was tired and said, "Go to sleep, I'll be here if you need me."

Ichigo fell asleep soon after, and Kisshu sat down next to her.

**Okay, I know it's short, but I'm tired. I got the idea for Ichigo to have nightmares from Soccer-Geek, but unfortunately, her idea was better than my interpretation of it, so it's not that great. Plz review anyways!**


	16. Ichigo's Recovery

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 16:**

**Ichigo's Recovery**

Ichigo woke up to find Kisshu sitting next to her, carving something. "Kisshu?" she asked.

Kisshu looked up and smiled. "You're awake!" he said. "How are you feeling?"

"Not great," Ichigo said. "I'm thirsty, too."

"I've got some water that Pai brought in," Kisshu said. He poured a glass, and asked, "Can you sit up?"

"I can try," Ichigo said. She pushed herself up, and managed to stay upright for about a minute before she fell back. Kisshu caught her, and helped her lie back down. "Thanks, Kisshu," Ichigo said.

"Sure, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said. "I'll help you drink." He helped her sit up again, and supported her while she drank the water.

When she was finished, Kisshu helped her lie back down. "I'm kind of cold," Ichigo said. Kisshu put a hand on her forehead, and his eyes widened.

"You're burning up," Kisshu said. "I'll go get the medicine and more blankets." Ichigo nodded, so Kisshu teleported out. Unfortunately, when he got back Ichigo had fallen back to sleep. He spread the blankets over her, and put the fever medicine on the bedside table. Then he went to the bathroom and got a cool cloth, which he put on her forehead. Then he sat down next to her again.

Two hours later, Ichigo was still asleep, and Kisshu was getting worried. He had noticed that her fever had gone up. Finally he decided to wake her up. He gently shook her shoulder, but that didn't seem to do anything. He shook her a little harder. Still nothing. Finally, he used the trick Pai used- tapping her on the forehead. That seemed to work, because Ichigo opened her eyes and said, "What's wrong?"

"Your fever's gone up," Kisshu said. "You need to take some of the medicine."

Ichigo sighed, but nodded. Kisshu poured some of the medicine onto a spoon, and fed it to Ichigo, who swallowed it. "Can I go back to sleep? I'm still tired," Ichigo said.

"Yeah, it's late, so I'm going to sleep too," Kisshu said. "Can I sleep with you?"

"Are you sure? I don't want to get you sick," Ichigo said.

"I'll be fine," Kisshu said. Ichigo sighed and scooted over on the bed, making room for Kisshu, who climbed in next to her, and put his arms around her. She snuggled up to him, and went back to sleep almost immediately. Kisshu smiled slightly and went to sleep as well.

The next morning, Kisshu woke up before Ichigo and felt her forehead. She still had a fever, though it was better than yesterday. When he tried to get up to get more of the medicine, however, he noticed that Ichigo was clinging to him in her sleep. He tried to loosen her arms, but she clung more tightly to him. Kisshu was a bit worried by this; what if she was having another nightmare?

Kisshu tapped her forehead twice, and she slowly woke up. "Kisshu?" she asked.

"I'm right here," Kisshu said. "Um… why are you clinging to me like that?"

"Oh, sorry," Ichigo said, letting go of him. "I was having a dream about this stuffed cat I lost when I was little. It was trying to get out of my arms and run away."

Kisshu burst out laughing. "Hey, at least it wasn't another nightmare," Ichigo said indignantly.

"You're right," Kisshu said when he calmed down. "I was actually pretty worried that you were having another nightmare, that's why I woke you up."

"I'm okay," Ichigo said. "That machine Pai has worked."

"Good," Kisshu said, relieved. "Oh, you need to take more of the medicine again. You've still got a fever."

Ichigo sighed, but let go of Kisshu and nodded. Kisshu got up, and was startled when Ichigo said, "How'd you get that bruise on your ribs?"

Kisshu looked down and saw bruise on his ribs. "Um… maybe when you thought I was a toy cat," he said, smirking.

Ichigo blushed and said, "Uh… sorry about that, Kisshu."

"It's fine, it doesn't hurt," Kisshu said. Then he got out the medicine, and poured some onto a spoon. He fed it to Ichigo, who grimaced, but swallowed it anyways.

"I'm hungry," Ichigo said.

"Will you be okay if I go get something for you?" Kisshu asked.

"I'll be fine. The kitchen's not too far anyways," Ichigo said.

"Okay, what do you want?" Kisshu asked.

"Do you have toast?" Ichigo asked.

"Sure, I'll be right back," Kisshu said. He teleported out and appeared in the kitchen. Pai was there, and he looked up.

"How's Ichigo?" Pai asked.

"She's got a fever, so I gave her some medicine, and now she's hungry," Kisshu said. "I'm going to make some toast."

"Okay," Pai said.

Kisshu put some bread in the toaster, and buttered it when it was done. Then he teleported back to Ichigo.

Ichigo looked up as he teleported in. Then, to his surprise, she sat up. "Koneko-chan, you can sit up?" Kisshu asked.

"Yeah," Ichigo said. "It makes me a little dizzy though."

"I brought the toast," Kisshu said. "Do you want some?"

"Yes please," Ichigo said, taking the plate from him and eating the toast in about two minutes.

"Wow, you ate that fast," Kisshu commented.

"I was hungry," Ichigo said, blushing. "I'm getting tired again, though."

"Go back to sleep, I'm going to bring the plate back to the kitchen," Kisshu said.

Ichigo nodded and lay back down. She was sleeping soon after, and Kisshu teleported to the kitchen, where he put the plate in the sink, and then went back to Ichigo.

The next few days were pretty much the same. Ichigo was recovering faster than Kisshu had, which was good. By the end of the week, she was able to walk, and soon after that, she went back to training with Kisshu. She still got tired out occasionally, but that was fading too. By the middle of the second week, she was back to full strength.

**Bad chapter ending, I know. I think I'll put some action in the next chapter; I'm sure everyone is tired of all fluff. Plz Review!**


	17. Ryou's Attack

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 17:**

**Ryou's Attack**

A few days after Ichigo was fully recovered, Pai ran into the training room and said, "We've got to go back to Earth! Ryou and the Blue Knight are attacking Café Mew Mew!"

Ichigo and Kisshu were shocked, but Ichigo took her pendant out of her pocket and transformed. Then Kisshu grabbed her hand, and he and Pai teleported to Café Mew Mew. Taruto was already there, and the other Mews had transformed and were fighting. Ichigo summoned her Strawberry Bell and ran to help, followed by Kisshu and Pai, who had also summoned their weapons.

Ryou was currently fighting Mint, but as soon as he saw Ichigo coming, he suddenly kicked Mint out of the way and charged at Ichigo. Ichigo dodged sideways, and Ryou turned. Then he tried to stab her. She jumped over the sword and shouted, "Ribon…. Strawberry SURPRISE!"

Ryou dodged the attack, but it still managed to graze his arm. However, he didn't let go of the sword he was using. As soon as Ichigo landed, he charged again. This time, she took a chance, and dodged to the side, then kicked his wounded arm. He lost his grip on the sword, and it skidded over to Ichigo, who picked it up and said, "What will you do now, Ryou?"

Ryou snarled, and pulled out a long knife. He charged at Ichigo, and she dodged, then met Ryou's blade with the sword. He tried to push the sword back at her, but she held her position. She pushed back, then suddenly broke the contact, causing Ryou to stumble. Ichigo saw an opportunity in this, and lunged forward. Just before she could attack, though, Kisshu shouted, "Ichigo! Behind you!"

Ichigo turned, just in time for the Blue Knight to bring the hilt of his sword down on her head, knocking her out. Kisshu immediately teleported to her side, and while kicking the Blue Knight out of the way, picked Ichigo up and teleported into Café Mew Mew, where he found Keiichiro. "Take care of her," Kisshu ordered, and teleported out after Keiichiro nodded.

Kisshu teleported behind Ryou, who turned and attacked him. Kisshu brought his blades up, and trapped Ryou's sword again. Unfortunately, he couldn't send it flying without hurting someone, so he thought of another idea. Kisshu quickly wrenched the blade out of Ryou's hand, let one of his Dragon Swords disappear, and grabbed Ryou's sword.

Ryou got out his long knife again, and attacked Kisshu. "You're through!" Ryou shouted, pushing Kisshu back with his knife.

"No, _you're _through," Kisshu said, as he kicked Ryou's arm, causing him to drop the knife.

"Why did you have to take Ichigo away from me?" Ryou shouted.

"So that's what this is about," Kisshu said. "You never had a chance on her anyways, Blondie. You were always nasty to her, and since you never acted like you cared, she didn't believe you did. You heard her before; she hates you. Even after Keiichiro told her the truth about you, she still said she never would have fallen for you. She loves me now, and you should just get over it."

"I'm going to find a way to make Ichigo love me, and then you and the rest of your race can go to hell," Ryou said.

"Sorry Blondie, but you can't do that if you're dead," Kisshu said. With that, he took Ryou's sword, and drove it through Ryou's heart, killing him. Then he turned to the others, who were watching. "Hey, what happened to the Blue Knight?" Kisshu asked.

"He vanished when it looked like he was about to lose," Mint said. "Coward."

"Well, Ryou's dead, so that's a plus," Kisshu said. "What are we going to do with the body?"

"Call the police and have them haul it away?" Mint suggested.

"We'll all get arrested for murder," Zakuro said. "Let's go ask Keiichiro."

They all went inside, and found Keiichiro upstairs, watching over Ichigo, who was still unconscious. "What's up?" he asked.

"Kisshu killed Ryou and we're wondering what we should do with the body," Pai said.

"We could burn it," Keiichiro said.

"What will we tell the police?" Zakuro asked. "They're still looking for him, right?"

"Actually, I think they've all got orders to shoot him on sight," Keiichiro said. "We might as well tell them we found the body here, and make it look like the Blue Knight killed him."

"That's a good plan," Kisshu said. "But we should get Ichigo out of here before they show up."

"Okay," Keiichiro said. "You guys should go back to your ship with Ichigo. I'll contact you after we work this out."

"Will do," said Pai. Kisshu picked up Ichigo and teleported, followed by Pai and Taruto.

**Okay, I just ran out of ideas. If you've got any, please let me know! I want to put Deep Blue in at some point, btw. **


	18. More Trouble

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 18:**

**More Trouble**

Kisshu took Ichigo back to his room, and set her down on the bed. She was still unconscious, but at least she was still breathing. Kisshu pulled up a chair, and sat down to wait for her to wake up.

She woke up about two hours later, and looked surprised to see Kisshu looking down at her. "What happened?" she asked.

"The Blue Knight knocked you out, and you've been unconscious for about four hours," Kisshu said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, but I've got a pretty bad headache," Ichigo said. "What happened to Ryou and the Blue Knight?"

"I killed Ryou, but the Blue Knight apparently ran away when it looked like he was losing," Kisshu said.

"Well, good riddance to Ryou," Ichigo said. Noticing that Kisshu looked troubled, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Ryou was talking about how he was planning on making you fall in love with him," Kisshu said. "Would that have ever happened?"

Ichigo looked somewhat hurt, but said, "Ryou would have to brainwash me to make me fall in love with him, and even that might not work. Why would you think that?"

Kisshu noticed that Ichigo looked hurt, and said, "Sorry, Koneko-chan. I guess his talk about how he thought you would fall in love with him got to me, and I started wondering if it would have happened. I'm sorry for doubting you."

"Kisshu, I hated Ryou almost from the beginning," Ichigo said. "Like I said before, if I broke up with the treehugger, I would only fall for you. Besides, Ryou's dead, so you don't need to worry about it anymore." She got up and hugged him.

Kisshu sighed happily and hugged back. He was about to say something, but Pai suddenly teleported in and said urgently, "We're needed back on Earth, now!"

"What's wrong?" Kisshu asked.

"Ichigo's parents were taken by the Blue Knight!" Pai cried.

"WHAT!?" Ichigo and Kisshu shouted together. Kisshu took Ichigo's hand and teleported to Café Mew Mew, Pai right behind him.

Keiichiro ran up as soon as they arrived and said, "Come to the basement, I'll explain everything."

They followed him to the basement. To their shock, there were two police officers there as well. "This is Officer Anko and Officer Itou," Keiichiro said. "They're members of a special unit in the police force that deals with unusual cases. I told them about the Mew Project, as well as the truth behind the alien attacks, and they have agreed to help us with the other police. They have both promised that no harm will come to any of us from the police."

"That's good, but what about my parents?" Ichigo asked.

"After Ryou's death, I got called into the police station again, but this time by Officer Anko's supervisor," Keiichiro said. "He, to my surprise, knew of the Mew Project; apparently he knew Ryou's mother. I ended up telling him that I was Professor Shirogane's assistant, and I helped Ryou create you Mews. I told him the circumstances of Ryou's death, and he decided that if any other police officers said anything, he would override them, saying it was self-defense. He apparently has quite a bit of influence in the force. I also explained to him that the aliens were under orders to attack, and that they did not have a choice. When he asked why they formed a truce, I told him that you all believed that Deep Blue had vanished, but that even after they found he was still alive, they decided it would be better to cooperate with the Mews, at least, since they knew the fighting wasn't going anywhere."

Keiichiro paused, then continued, "Sargent Sanatsu asked about the Blue Knight, and I told him what we know, that he's a part of Deep Blue and is now controlled by him. The sargent asked me to give him a picture of the Blue Knight, and so I got one off the computer. It's now on a wanted poster around Tokyo. The other day, someone called the police because they saw him in Ichigo's neighborhood. But by the time the police got there, Ichigo's parents were gone, and the person who saw all this was unconscious. When the woman woke up, she said she saw the Blue Knight break down the door and go in. She heard a struggle, and then the Blue Knight came back out with Ichigo's parents unconscious. He looked up at her, and she said that's the last thing she remembers until she woke up in the hospital."

"This is bad," Pai said. "A hostage situation puts us in a very delicate position. Have there been any notes or anything that says what the Blue Knight wants?"

"Yes, there was one," Officer Itou said. "Here, look." He handed Pai a piece of paper, and Pai read out loud,

_I have Mew Ichigo's parents, and if you ever want to see them again, you must surrender Mew Ichigo and Ikisatashi Kisshu to me. You have one week to give your decision._

_Signed,_

_The Blue Knight_

"What are we going to do NOW?" Ichigo asked. "He probably wants to kill us, and if we don't do as he says, my parents will die!"

"This is a problem," Keiichiro said. "We can't very well hand you two over, the Earth will get taken over without our two strongest. But we also don't want Ichigo's parents to die."

"What if we pretended to cooperate, and then attacked after we got Ichigo's parents back?" Kisshu suggested. "You guys could say you came along to make sure we got there, and then we could ask for Ichigo's parents, then attack after he gives them back."

"What if he refuses to give them back before we hand you two over?" Officer Anko asked.

"You could tie us up, but make sure the knots are easy to undo," Kisshu said. "Then we would appear to be helpless, so he'd just hand them over."

"And when Ichigo needs to transform?" Keiichiro asked.

"She could transform beforehand," Kisshu said. "Remember, the note says to surrender me and _Mew _Ichigo, not me and Ichigo. The Blue Knight can't really complain if we show him the note, which specifically says that he wants _Mew _Ichigo, not Momomiya Ichigo."

"Good point," Pai said. "Alright, let's do that, if everyone agrees."

"I think it's a good plan," Officer Itou said. "Do you need us to help?"

"I don't think so," Kisshu said. "If there's a fight, I don't think those metal things you carry around are going to do much good, when the Blue Knight can just teleport out of the way."

"Alright, but if you need us, call," Officer Anko said.

"Will do," said Keiichiro. The two officers bowed and left. Keiichiro turned to the others. "I guess this meeting is over," he said. "You should all go back home, and get some rest."

The other Mews nodded and left. Kisshu asked Ichigo, "Do you want to come back with us?"

"Yes," Ichigo said. Kisshu nodded and took her hand, then teleported to his room.

**Okay, now I need ideas. I know this chapter wasn't that great, especially the ending, but I'm hoping that the next will be better. I'm kind of braindead right now, so that's it for tonight. Review Plz!**


	19. The New Plan

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 19:**

**The New Plan**

Kisshu teleported Ichigo to his room, and they sat down on his bed. "I hope this plan works," Ichigo said.

"I think it will," Kisshu said. "Don't worry, we'll get your parents back."

"Thanks, Kisshu," Ichigo said.

Kisshu smiled at her, then said, "It's getting late, should we go to bed?"

"Sure," Ichigo said. She and Kisshu took off their shoes, and curled up together on his bed.

The next morning they woke up, cleaned up, and went to get breakfast. Pai came into the kitchen soon after and said, "I got another call from Keiichiro; we should go to the Café after breakfast."

"Okay," Kisshu said. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm not sure, he didn't say," Pai said. "He looked scared though."

"That doesn't sound good," Ichigo said. She and Kisshu finished eating and then teleported to Café Mew Mew with Pai.

They were met by Keiichiro, who said, "We got another note. Come to the basement."

Ichigo, Kisshu, and Pai followed Keiichiro to the basement. The other Mews were there, as were the two police officers from before.

"Here's the note," Keiichiro said, handing it to Pai.

Pai took it and read aloud, _"I know what you're planning. Any funny stuff, and Ichigo's parents die."_

"So does that mean he was spying on us somehow?" Ichigo asked. "And he wrote 'Ichigo' instead of 'Mew Ichigo' this time."

"It would appear that way," Keiichiro said. "But this is a problem. If we don't do as he says, Ichigo's parents die. If we cooperate, we'll lose our two strongest fighters. And the week is almost up. What should we do?"

Even Pai was stumped by this. It seemed like a lose-lose situation. Either way, they'd lose someone.

"I don't suppose this is one of those 'sacrifice someone for the greater good' situations," Mint said.

"NO, it's not," Ichigo said. "I don't want my parents to die."

"None of us do, Ichigo," Zakuro said, giving Mint a stern look. Mint wilted.

"Where is the meeting place?" Officer Anko asked suddenly.

Keiichiro looked at the first note and said, "It says he'll bring Ichigo's parents here, and we'll exchange."

"I don't suppose we could wait in that alleyway and ambush him?" Officer Itou asked.

"He'll probably use Ichigo's parents as a shield," Kisshu said.

The others sat around in silence for a while, thinking. Suddenly Lettuce said, "We're pretty sure the Blue Knight can spy on us, right?"

"Yeah…." The others said.

"We need to find a way to come up with a plan that won't arouse suspicion," Lettuce said. "Is there anywhere we could go that he couldn't spy on us?"

"My lab might work," Pai said. "I made it spy proof after Kisshu cut a hole in the ceiling and snuck in to read my journal."

"Don't you mean 'diary', Pai?" Kisshu smirked. "Boy was that funny!"

"Um… can we get back on track?" Keiichiro asked. "We can talk about Pai's journal later."

"Right. Sorry," Kisshu said.

Pai sighed. "We might as well go to my lab, but no touching things, got it?"

"Hai," everyone else said.

It took a few trips, but finally everyone was gathered in Pai's lab. Keiichiro said, "Any ideas yet?"

"Maybe we should go along with the original plan, except Ichigo won't transform," Lettuce said. "We were going to tie them up for show, but make the knots easy to break out of, right?"

"Yeah," Keiichiro said. "But if Ichigo doesn't transform, how can she fight?"

"I don't necessarily need to transform to fight," Ichigo said. "I can use a sword. If we got one of those devices that Ryou had, I could put it in my pocket, and the Blue Knight wouldn't know."

"I think I have one of those," Keiichiro said. "Does everyone like this plan?"

"Well, it's all we've got, so I guess so," Pai said. The others nodded.

Then Kisshu, who had been wandering around while listening, said, "Pai, why do you have a whole _bookcase _on Finless Porpoises?"

Pai turned red and said, "None of YOUR business."

Kisshu smirked and snapped his fingers, and a small book appeared in his hand. "This might have some answers," he said evilly…

**Cliffie! Except I'm posting again, so it's not as good a cliffie. Oh well. REVIEW! **


	20. The Humiliation of Pai

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 20:**

**The Humiliation of Pai**

"WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?" Pai shouted.

Kisshu ignored him and started flipping pages. He reached the one he wanted, and began to read aloud.

"_Today we fought the Mews at the beach. Mew Lettuce was looking at me again. This time she asked me why we can't get along. But then our storm caused two children to get blown into the ocean, and she went to save them. I've never met anyone with that much compassion. She isn't like the other Mews; I can tell she hates fighting. And she only talks to me, not Kisshu or Taruto. Why is that? Could she possibly have feelings for me? I wish this battle wasn't so complicated._

Kisshu smirked and flipped to the middle of the book, then started reading again.

"_We are going back to Earth tomorrow. Kisshu can't wait, Taruto's pretending he doesn't care. Frankly, I think Taruto would be a lot better off if he just admitted he likes that monkey Mew. As for me… How am I to tell Lettuce how I really feel? I'm not good at showing emotions. And what if she's found someone else? There's no one else like her. Not on my planet, not on Earth. She's the only one for me._

Kisshu flipped one more page, and read out:

"_Well, we're back on Earth. Kisshu got his wish, Taruto's spending all day, every day, at the monkey girl's house. And me? I've never been this happy. Lettuce and I are together, and I don't think I'll ever be sad again."_

Kisshu closed Pai's diary and looked at him. Pai was dark purple. Taruto and Ichigo had laughed themselves into hysterics, Mint and Zakuro were looking rather amused, Lettuce was bright red, Keiichiro was looking nervous, and the two police officers looked confused.

Two seconds later, the explosion came. "KISSHU! I'M GONNA KILL YOU FOR THAT, YOU LITTLE #%# &# !" Pai shouted.

"Even if I give the diary back?" Kisshu asked.

"YES! YOU'RE DEAD MEAT!" Pai shouted.

Kisshu gulped, and teleported out, dropping the diary on his way. Pai teleported out soon after, still dark purple.

Everything was silent for a minute, then Officer Itou said, "Um.. we kind of have to get back to our office, what should we do?"

"Taruto, can you teleport them back to Earth?" Keiichiro asked.

"Sure," Taruto said. "Is Café Mew Mew okay?"

"Yeah, that's where our car is," Officer Itou said.

"Can I look at your car?" Taruto asked excitedly. "I've never seen one of them up close."

"Sure," Officer Anko said.

Taruto smiled and took both of the police officer's hands, then teleported.

This left the Mews and Keiichiro with nothing to do. Lettuce was still very red, and Zakuro said, "Lettuce, are you okay?"

"I didn't realize Pai loved me that much," Lettuce said softly. "I'm glad though; I love him with all my heart."

"I'm glad," Zakuro said. "You two work well as a couple."

"Th-thanks, Zakuro-san," Lettuce said.

"What should we do until Pai and Kisshu work this out?" Keiichiro asked- just as they heard Kisshu scream.

Ichigo immediately ran for the door, followed by Lettuce. The girls ran to the sound of Kisshu's scream, and finally reached where Pai and Kisshu were.

Kisshu was slumped against the wall, unconscious. His left arm was badly burned, and he had a long slash across his chest, which was bleeding. Pai was standing over him, looking at the fan in his hand in what appeared to be shock. He looked up as Lettuce and Ichigo came over. "I didn't mean to go so far….." he whispered.

"Pai, we have to care for Kisshu's injuries," Ichigo said. "You have the power to heal, right?"

"Y-yeah," Pai said. He seemed to be in shock as he knelt next to Kisshu, and put a hand over the slash on his chest. The bleeding slowed, then stopped as the cut began to repair itself. When the wound was healed, Pai turned his attention to the burn on Kisshu's left arm, and healed that, too. Finally he stood up and said, "Can… you take him back to his room, Ichigo? I need some time alone."

"Sure, Pai," Ichigo said. "Lettuce, help me carry him."

Lettuce obeyed, and the two girls carried Kisshu to his room and put him to bed, covering him with a blanket.

Two hours later, Lettuce and Ichigo were still watching Kisshu, who was still unconscious. He didn't have a fever, but he was unconscious and paler than usual.

Pai came in a while later, and said, "How is he?"

"Still unconscious," Ichigo said. "He's also very pale, though I don't think he has a fever."

"I'll try to wake him up," Pai said. He tapped Kisshu's forehead, and Kisshu slowly opened his eyes.

"Pai?" Kisshu whispered. "What happened?"

"I'm sorry, Kisshu," Pai said. His voice cracked slightly as he said, "I shouldn't have attacked you like that. I'm really sorry!"

"I guess we're both at fault," Kisshu said. "I shouldn't have read your diary out loud like that. I'm sorry too."

Ichigo and Lettuce quietly left as Pai started to break down.

Kisshu was pretty alarmed as Pai sank into the chair Lettuce had just left and buried his face in his hands. "I can't believe I did that…." Pai whispered.

Kisshu had never seen Pai like this, but said, "We're brothers, Pai. It's natural to fight. I admit this was worse than usual, but I'll recover, so don't beat yourself up over it."

Pai looked at Kisshu, and said, "You're not angry with me?"

"No," Kisshu said. "Are you mad at me?"

"No," Pai said. "I'm sorry I got so worked up."

"Like I said, don't beat yourself up over it," Kisshu said.

"Are you feeling okay?" Pai asked.

"Not really, to be honest," Kisshu said. "The injuries don't hurt, but I don't really feel great."

"I'll take a look," Pai said. He placed a hand on Kisshu's chest, and closed his eyes. Finally he said, "I think you've come down with something. This is bad timing, though. We have to meet with the Blue Knight in three days."

"Can you do anything?" Kisshu asked. "I don't want to face him while I'm sick, and I don't think he'll believe the rest of you if you say that I didn't come because I'm too sick."

"I'll try," Pai said. His hand began to glow. Finally he took his hand away, and asked, "Are you feeling any better?"

"I think so," Kisshu said. He sat up, but when he tried to stand, he fell, and Pai caught him.

"You should get some rest, I'll send Ichigo in," Pai said. "Save your strength for the Blue Knight." He helped Kisshu lie back down, and tucked him back in. Kisshu fell asleep as Pai teleported out.

Pai found Ichigo and Lettuce in the kitchen, making what smelled like cookies. They looked up and Ichigo asked, "How's Kisshu?"

"He needs to rest, I just healed him," Pai said. "He should probably take it easy until we have to face the Blue Knight."

Ichigo nodded, and said, "Is he sleeping?"

"Yeah, I said I'd send you in," Pai replied.

"Okay," Ichigo said. "Lettuce, can you finish up here?"

"Sure, Ichigo-san," Lettuce said. Ichigo smiled at her and went to Kisshu's room.


	21. Confrontation

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 21:**

**Confrontation**

Three days later, it was time to meet the Blue Knight. Everyone was worried, not only because the Blue Knight might kill Ichigo's parents, but because Kisshu wasn't completely recovered. They decided to go ahead anyways, but keep a close eye on Kisshu.

Pai and Taruto teleported Kisshu and Ichigo to Café Mew Mew. Kisshu could teleport, but the others wanted to make sure he had enough strength for the confrontation, so Pai teleported him, while Taruto teleported Ichigo.

They arrived about ten minutes early, and went along with the plan of tying up Ichigo and Kisshu. Pai had brought some cord, and he tied their wrists in front of them, making sure to tie the special knot that would come undone easily.

Ichigo had the sword device in her pocket, and was ready to use it. She had been training really hard to learn to use a sword, and Kisshu had taught her how to use two at once, like he did.

At exactly 12:30, the Blue Knight teleported into the Café. "What is your decision?" he asked.

"We will hand over the two you asked for, on one condition," Keiichiro said. "Let us see that Ichigo's parents are okay."

The Blue Knight waved a hand, and Ichigo's parents appeared bound and gagged. Their eyes widened when they saw Ichigo and Kisshu.

"Let's exchange," Pai said in a sad voice. He led Ichigo and Kisshu forward, then held out his hand. The Blue Knight snapped his fingers and the bonds on Ichigo's parents disappeared. Pai immediately took both of them by the shoulder in one quick movement, and teleported. The Blue Knight looked back at Ichigo and Kisshu- just as they quickly untied themselves.

Knowing she didn't have time to transform, Ichigo took out the sword device and activated it. Kisshu took out his swords, and the other Mews transformed as Ichigo, Kisshu and Taruto attacked the Blue Knight, who had his sword out.

The Blue Knight lunged at Kisshu, who blocked his sword and pushed it back. The Blue Knight broke away suddenly, causing Kisshu to stumble. Ichigo noticed and lunged at the Blue Knight. He took his attention away from Kisshu and locked blades with Ichigo. Unfortunately, he managed to send her sword flying. Everyone gasped, but Zakuro's whip caught it, and she got the sword back to Ichigo as the Blue Knight attacked Kisshu again.

This time around, Kisshu was starting to tire. But he ignored it, and formed an energy ball, then sent it at the Blue Knight.

The Blue Knight dodged, and the energy ball didn't hit him. That was bad for Kisshu, who was starting to look a bit unsteady. Naturally, the Blue Knight saw that and lunged at Kisshu, who flew backwards- then collapsed.

The other's reactions were immediate. Ichigo distracted the Blue Knight with her sword while the others ran to Kisshu's side. Suddenly Ichigo got an idea, and broke away from the locked swords. She looked at Taruto, and he flew over and attacked the Blue Knight as Ichigo ran to Kisshu.

The others looked up, and Ichigo quickly said, "I'm going to borrow Kisshu's Dragon Swords, I'm actually better with two blades than one." She grabbed Kisshu's swords, and said, "Get him out of here." Then she ran back to help Taruto.

Taruto was happy to let Ichigo take over, so Ichigo attacked the Blue Knight with Kisshu's swords.

The Blue Knight was obviously surprised that Ichigo could use two blades, but he attacked her back. Unfortunately for him, Ichigo had had a great teacher, and as he swung his sword sideways at her, she spun and trapped his blade. The Blue Knight's eyes widened when he realized he was trapped.

Ichigo twisted Kisshu's swords and wrenched the Blue Knight's blade out of his hand. It clattered to the floor, and Ichigo quickly kicked it out of reach. The Blue Knight looked shocked, and backed away as Ichigo lunged forward. He wasn't quick enough. Ichigo stabbed him through the heart, and ripped the swords out of his chest as he collapsed. After making sure he was dead, Ichigo went back to her friends and asked, "Do you have something I could use to clean these swords?"

They were all speechless, and finally Keiichiro pointed to a pile of napkins on a nearby table. Ichigo went over and started cleaning the blood off of Kisshu's swords. When they were clean, she went back to her friends, and said, "What's wrong?"

"You're good with those swords," Mint said finally.

"Well, Kisshu was my teacher, so what do you expect?" Ichigo asked. "By the way, where is he?"

"Upstairs," Keiichiro said. "I sent Taruto to tell Pai it's safe while you were cleaning the swords."

"I'm going to go check on Kisshu," Ichigo said. "Tell my parents where I am if they ask?"

"Sure," Keiichiro said. Ichigo smiled and went up to the room where Kisshu was.

When she got there, Kisshu was still unconscious. She pulled up a chair and sat down next to him, then waited for him to wake up.

About half an hour later, Kisshu started to stir. Ichigo waited a minute, then said, "Kisshu?"

Kisshu turned his head and asked, "Ichigo? What happened with the Blue Knight after I blacked out?"

"I borrowed your Dragon Swords and killed him," Ichigo said. "I cleaned the swords off; do you want them back?"

"Wow, you defeated the Blue Knight by yourself?" Kisshu asked.

"Yeah," Ichigo said. "Thanks for teaching me how to use swords."

"Looks like I did a good job," Kisshu said. Ichigo handed him the Dragon Swords, and he made them disappear.

"How are you feeling?" Ichigo asked.

"Better, I think I just overdid it today," Kisshu said. "I guess creating energy balls isn't good for me right now."

"Can you sit up?" Ichigo asked.

Kisshu tried, and had no problem. Standing, though, was a problem; Kisshu was still a bit shaky. Ichigo helped him walk downstairs.

When they got back to the main room, Pai and Taruto had returned with Ichigo's parents, and Officer Anko and Officer Itou were there too. There was another man standing there, also in a police uniform. Keiichiro was the first to see them, and he said, "Good, you're here. Sargent Sanatsu would like to ask you all a few questions, and then we can all go home. Kisshu, are you okay?"

"Pretty much, but I still can't walk too well," Kisshu said.

"Maybe we should all have a seat," Keiichiro said. Ichigo helped Kisshu over to a chair, and he sat down. She sat next to him.

The others all sat down too, and Sargent Sanatsu said, "It's nice to meet all of you. I have a few questions, and then we can all go home. Keiichiro told me about the Mew Project details, and the aliens. So my first question is: Are we in anymore danger now that the Blue Knight is gone?"

"I don't believe so, but I'd have to do a bit more searching to be 100% positive," Pai said. "The Blue Knight was only a part of Deep Blue, the Cyniclon leader, and while I know that two parts of him are now gone, his spirit remains, and that could cause problems later on. Can I get back to you on that?"

"Sure, as long as it's before any more trouble hits," Sargent Sanantsu said. "I think I only have one more question. Where are you going to go now that you don't need to fight anymore?"

"We'll go back to our planet with the Mew Aqua to heal it," Pai replied. "There is a possibility, however, that we'll get exiled. Deep Blue was considered a god on our planet; I don't think that they'll be very happy with us."

"So you may need somewhere to live on Earth?" Sargent Sanatsu asked.

"I have two extra rooms," Keiichiro said. "There is the problem that there are three Cyniclons, however…"

"Kisshu can live with us," Ichigo said, pointing to her parents.

"Is that okay with your parents?" Sargent Sanatsu asked.

"I love it!" Sakura said.

Shintaro's jaw dropped. Finally he collected himself and said, "Fine, but you are NOT sleeping together, got it? Kisshu can have the guest room."

"Awww…." Ichigo and Kisshu said together. Shintaro glared at them, and they said, "Fine….."

"Looks like that's settled," Sargent Sanatsu said. "Let's all go home."

The other Mews and the police left, but Ichigo, her parents, the Cyniclons, and Keiichiro stayed.

"Mom, Dad, can I spend one more night at Kisshu's?" Ichigo asked.

"Fine….. but NO funny stuff," Shintaro said.

"YAY!" Ichigo said. She turned to Kisshu, Pai and Taruto and said, "Should we go?"

"Yep," Pai said. "Kisshu, can you teleport?"

"I don't know," Kisshu said.

"I'll take you," Pai said. He took Kisshu's shoulder and teleported, Taruto following with Ichigo.

**Okay, that's it for tonight. I'm getting tired…**


	22. Aftermath

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 22:**

**Aftermath**

Ichigo and Kisshu slept together that night, and got up the next morning ready to go. Kisshu was feeling better, so after they both cleaned up and had breakfast, they went back to Earth, since Kisshu could teleport again. Pai was doing research on whether Deep Blue could be a problem, and Taruto was with Pudding.

Kisshu took Ichigo to her house first, since she needed to drop off her stuff that she had brought to the Cyniclon's ship. They went to her room first, and dropped the stuff off. Then they were going to go downstairs, when they heard shouting. They both crept to the door and started listening. Ichigo's parents were fighting about something.

"You agreed to it, and you should stick to your word!" Sakura said.

"That was a temporary lapse of sanity!" Shintaro shouted back.

"She's not two years old anymore! She's old enough to know right from wrong, and she would never get that carried away!" Sakura shouted in exasperation. Ichigo and Kisshu looked at each other.

"How do we know that? She's obviously head over heels for him, and lovesick people make mistakes!" Shintaro shouted.

"Ichigo's grown up, and you still treat her like a two year old!" Sakura said. "Did you ever consider how that might feel? She's thirteen, not a baby. And treating her like a baby will never get you respect from her. She's not going to stop loving you if you treat her age appropriately, in fact it will make her happier. She hates it when you treat her like she can't make her own decisions!"

"How do you know that?" Shintaro shouted.

"Because she talks to me! I figured that at least one of us should treat her right, and when I saw it wouldn't be YOU, I took on the role of the one she can go to if she needs to talk!" Sakura shouted, obviously losing patience.

Apparently Shintaro saw he was losing, because he changed the subject. "I still don't think it's a good idea for him to live with her," he said.

Ichigo looked over at Kisshu. He looked sad. "Your dad really doesn't trust me, does he?" Kisshu whispered.

"I think he'll get over it," Ichigo whispered back. From downstairs, they heard, "What was that?" and running footsteps. Ichigo and Kisshu were sitting on the stairs, and when Sakura came around the corner, she saw them.

"How much did you hear?" she asked, noticing that they both looked depressed.

"We came in at about you saying that Dad agreed to it," Ichigo said, as Shintaro came around the corner too.

Sakura turned and glared at Shintaro. Before she could scold him, though, Kisshu said sadly, "I'll just leave now. I understand you don't really want me around." Then he teleported.

Ichigo looked at where he had been sitting, and screamed, "HOW COULD YOU, DAD? NOW HE'LL NEVER COME BACK, AND IT'LL BE ALL YOUR FAULT!" She burst into tears and ran to her room as Sakura slapped Shintaro and said, "Now look what you've done!"

Ichigo, meanwhile, was lying facedown on her bed, sobbing. Someone knocked on the door, and she screamed, "GO AWAY! You don't care about me, I know that now. I'm never going to talk to you again!"

"Sweetie, I'm not your father, and I just want to talk," Sakura said through the door. When she didn't get a response, she opened the door. She walked in and closed the door, then sat down next to Ichigo.

"Why did Dad have to do that?" Ichigo asked, her voice muffled by the blankets. "I'll probably never see Kisshu again. Why doesn't Dad understand that I love him? It's not just a silly childhood crush."

"I know," Sakura said. "Your dad doesn't see that, because he still believes you're his little girl, and doesn't even want to admit that you've grown up. Unfortunately, that put you and him at odds, and I don't really know how to fix this."

"Dad doesn't care enough about me to realize that I've grown up," Ichigo said. "If he really cared, he wouldn't have chased the only guy I've ever really loved away."

"On the contrary, your father cares too much, and that's just as bad," Sakura said. "He's too overprotective, and now it's hurt you and Kisshu. I promise, though, I'll do everything I can to work this out."

"And Dad?" Ichigo asked.

"He'll be fine after a while," Sakura said. "I had a talk with him. He looked pretty scared, so I'm hoping he'll come to his senses sooner rather than later. I'm thinking we should find Kisshu, though. I don't want him to get too depressed."

"You're right," Ichigo said, sitting up and drying her face off. "Thanks, Mom."

"You're welcome, sweetie," Sakura said.

They both got up, and walked out of Ichigo's room. Downstairs, they ignored a sulking Shintaro, and got their shoes, then went out the door.

"Where do you think we should look?" Sakura asked.

"If he's still on Earth, Inohara Park," Ichigo said. "If not, we go to Café Mew Mew and have Keiichiro look him up on the monitor."

Sakura nodded, and they went to Inohara Park.

Twenty minutes later, they still hadn't found him, and were getting worried. Finally Ichigo said, "We're going to Café Mew Mew to talk to Keiichiro."

Sakura followed her to the Café, and they walked in. Ichigo led the way to the kitchen, but Keiichiro wasn't there. "Let's try the basement," she said.

They went to the basement, and found Keiichiro and Zakuro there. Both looked up, and Keiichiro said, "Ichigo? And Mrs. Momomiya? Is something wrong?"

"Yes," Sakura said. "Shintaro really hurt Kisshu's feelings, and he teleported. We were wondering if you knew how to find him."

"I'll check the monitor," Keiichiro said. "If he's anywhere in Tokyo, the computer will find him." He turned to the computer and started typing. Ichigo and Sakura came over and watched. Finally the screen flashed the words, 'No Results'. "Maybe he went back to the ship," Keiichiro said.

"I'll call Pai," Ichigo said. "Maybe he knows something. Kisshu used to have a cell phone, but it broke while he and Taruto were fighting." She took out her cell phone and scrolled through her contacts, then pressed Send when she reached Pai's number.

Pai picked up after a few rings and said, "What's up, Ichigo?"

"Where's Kisshu? Do you know?" Ichigo asked.

"He's in his room," Pai said. "He looked pretty depressed, but he didn't say anything to me. What happened?"

"My dad happened," Ichigo said bitterly. "Can you come get me? My mom and I need to talk to Kisshu."

"On my way," Pai said, and hung up.

Pai teleported into the basement a few minutes later, and said, "Are you both ready?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said.

Pai took Ichigo and Sakura each by the hand, and teleported to the main room of the ship. "Kisshu's room is down here," he said, and led them to a door. He knocked, and they heard Kisshu's muffled voice say, "What?"

"You've got visitors, Kisshu," Pai called.

"Tell them to go away," Kisshu said.

"It's Ichigo and her mother," Pai called.

There was no response, but the door opened a crack. Pai pushed it open, and they went in. Kisshu was lying facedown on the bed, his head buried in the pillows.

"Kisshu, are you okay?" Ichigo asked.

"Your dad hates me," Kisshu said without looking up.

"But I don't hate you, and neither does Mom," Ichigo said. "Are you going to get this depressed because one person dislikes you?"

"Yes, because I might have to live with him at some point," Kisshu said.

"By which point my mom will have won him over, and he'll act like you're part of the family," Ichigo said.

"Not happening," Kisshu said.

Ichigo sighed, but Sakura went and sat down next to Kisshu, then said firmly, "Kisshu, look at me."

To Ichigo and Pai's surprise, Kisshu obeyed. Sakura continued, "If Shintaro doesn't treat you right, I'll handle it. I just finished talking some sense into him, and if and when you come to live with us, I'll make sure he behaves. I'll work on him, so don't get so depressed. Shintaro just needs softening up."

Kisshu sat up, and Sakura hugged him. "I know you'll be fine," she told Kisshu. "You're strong, like Ichigo."

Kisshu buried his face in her shoulder, unable to speak. Sakura winked at Ichigo over his head.

"Kisshu, I think you'll be fine as long as Mrs. Momomiya is around," Pai said. He turned to Sakura and said, "Kisshu, Taruto and I are orphans. It would be good for Kisshu to have someone caring like you in his life besides Ichigo."

"Judging by how close he and Ichigo are, I'll probably be his mother in law soon anyways," Sakura said with a smile. "And you can all call me Sakura."

Kisshu had managed to collect himself, and he said, "Thanks, Sakura."

"You're welcome, Kisshu," Sakura said. "I'm going to go soften Shintaro up some more. Ichigo, would you like to stay here?"

"Yes, but what about school?" Ichigo asked.

"I'll tell them you're sick," Sakura said. "Kisshu needs you more than the school does anyways."

"Thanks, Mom," Ichigo said.

Sakura smiled and let Kisshu go, then hugged Ichigo. "I'll see you both soon," she said. "Pai, can you take me back?"

"Hai," Pai said. He took her shoulder and teleported, leaving Kisshu and Ichigo alone.

**Somewhat sad, somewhat cute. Review Plz!**


	23. Dinner Party

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 23:**

**Dinner Party**

"Your mom is amazing," Kisshu said to Ichigo.

"Yeah, she is," Ichigo said. "I'm so lucky that my mom is so nice."

"She's good at calming people down, huh?" Kisshu said.

"Yeah, before I called Pai, and before we left to go looking for you, I was worried I might never see you again," Ichigo said. "Mom was really helpful."

"You were worried you would never see me again?" Kisshu asked.

"I basically broke down after you left," Ichigo said. "If I could have teleported, I would have."

"Sorry if I worried you," Kisshu said.

"It's not your fault," Ichigo said. "I just wish my dad wasn't so overprotective of me."

Kisshu hugged her. "Well, your mom did say she'd work it out," he said.

Ichigo snuggled against him.

Suddenly Pai teleported in and said, "I took your mom home, and she said that you can have tomorrow off, but you have to come back tomorrow night. She also wants Kisshu to know that she's going to spend all day tomorrow softening up Mr. Momomiya, so you both are invited for dinner. I was surprised, she invited me and Taruto as well."

"Are you coming?" Ichigo asked.

"I would like to, but Taruto's having another sleepover with Pudding, so I told your mom it wouldn't be a good idea to invite him, since he and Pudding tend to spend all night gorging themselves on candy," Pai said.

"I like this idea," Ichigo said. "Maybe it'll help."

"Okay," Kisshu said. "Let's all go."

Kisshu and Ichigo slept together again that night, and then spent the next day sitting around talking. Ichigo had to go back to school the next day, but Kisshu was going to meet her at the park after school.

Finally it was time to go to Ichigo's house for dinner, and Ichigo and Kisshu got cleaned up, then met Pai and teleported to Ichigo's front door. Kisshu rang the bell, and Sakura answered the door. "Come in," she said. "I was just about to set the table."

"Do you want me to do it?" Kisshu asked.

"Sure, that's sweet of you," Sakura said. "I'll show you where we keep everything." Kisshu followed her to the kitchen, and Pai and Ichigo stayed in the living room. Shintaro came in a few minutes later, and looked at Ichigo. He seemed a bit unsure of what to say, and it probably didn't help that Ichigo wasn't looking too happy to see him.

Pai bowed to him and said, "Konbanwa, Mr. Momomiya."

"Konbanwa," Shintaro said. "What was your name again?"

"I'm Pai," Pai said.

Then they heard Sakura call out, "Dinner's on the table!"

Ichigo led the way to the dining room, followed by her father and Pai. They found Sakura and Kisshu already there, and Sakura said, "Kisshu set the table, so let's eat!"

The others sat down. Ichigo sat next to Kisshu, and Pai sat next to her, while Sakura and Shintaro sat next to each other. Everyone was silent for a while, then Sakura asked, "Kisshu, what do you like to do for fun?"

"I like carving little figurines," Kisshu said. "I made one for Ichigo a while ago, of her in cat form."

"Cat form? You mean her Mew Form?" Sakura asked.

"No, she can turn into a cat if she gets kissed," Kisshu said.

Ichigo's parents looked at Ichigo. "It has to be a kiss from a human," Ichigo said. "So Kisshu can't do it."

"Then how do you know that you can turn into a cat?" Shintaro asked.

"Ryou used to do it to annoy me. And before you ask, I did not agree to those kisses, he'd grab me, kiss me, and make me spend half an hour as a cat before getting someone else to kiss me back to normal," Ichigo said. "Yet another reason I hated him."

"And you didn't tell anyone this because…." Shintaro said.

"If the police had found out about the Mews at that time, we'd all be screwed, and besides, I can't talk as a cat," Ichigo said.

"Good point," Shintaro said.

"Pai, do you do anything for fun?" Sakura asked.

"I like to read," Pai said.

"About Finless Porpoises, right Pai?" Kisshu asked, smirking. "That bookshelf is getting pretty full…"

"Let's not go too far with this," Ichigo said.

"'Go too far'?" Sakura asked.

"The last time Finless Porpoises were mentioned, Kisshu started reading aloud from Pai's diary to the rest of us Mews, and things got a bit out of control," Ichigo said.

"What is it about Finless Porpoises that's so important?" Shintaro asked.

"Lettuce is half Finless Porpoise, and she and Pai are together," Ichigo explained.

"Oh…." Shintaro said.

"And Pai gets really overprotective of Lettuce," Kisshu said. "It's cute, Pai never used to be this open."

"Kisshu, you think it's cute that I'm overprotective?" Pai asked.

"No, I think that you and Lettuce together is cute," Kisshu said. "I don't find overprotective to be cute, although it's a nice quality. There's a limit, though, I think. Protecting someone important to you is one thing, but limiting their freedom to 'protect' them doesn't make anyone happy."

"I think you're right, Kisshu," Ichigo said. "Protecting what's important to you is a good thing, but going overboard is not."

"I agree with Ichigo," Sakura said. The others noticed her giving Shintaro a significant look.

Shintaro obviously got the message, because he then said, "Fine… I won't be too overprotective anymore…."

"Good," Sakura and Ichigo said together.

"Are you still mad at me, Ichigo?" Shintaro asked.

"I just don't like it when you hurt others because you think they're getting too close to me," Ichigo said. "I have to have someone other than my family to be with, and Kisshu truly cares about me. And besides, you guys leave me home alone so much that it doesn't really matter who I'm with anyways, does it?"

"I thought you didn't mind," Shintaro said.

Ichigo rolled her eyes. "I _had _to say that, or you'd continue to act like I was two years old and couldn't take care of myself," she said. "And you tend to leave at the most inopportune times, like this last trip, when I was sick. You should be glad Kisshu was around then, since he's the one who helped me get better."

"So you like having us around?" Shintaro asked.

"You're my parents, of course I do," Ichigo said. "I just wish that you were more like Mom, who understands that I'm my own person, not a little girl who needs someone to hold her hand everywhere she goes. I need to grow, and that's not going to happen if you continue to deny the fact that I'm a big girl. You're not going to lose me as a daughter just because I'm grown up. You'll always be my parents, but you need to understand, the way Mom does, that I'm not two years old and incapable of doing anything for myself."

Shintaro looked rather surprised. "How come you've never said anything before now?"

Before Ichigo could say anything, Sakura said, "She's said it several times, but you never listened. Ichigo's right, you know. We'll all be better off if you realize that she's a big girl, and that Kisshu is staying."

Shintaro sighed. He looked at Ichigo, then Kisshu, and said, "You still don't get to sleep together."

**I liked that Shintaro finally realized that Ichigo is grown up. Tell me what you think!**


	24. School

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 24:**

**School**

Ichigo had to go back to school the next day. Luckily, she had finished all the sent home work, so she was ready to go.

The next morning, she got up and got to school on time for once. She spent the morning handing back her work to all her teachers. She was surprised she hadn't seen Moe or Miwa at all that day.

At recess, she was almost immediately surrounded by girls. "Ichigo, did you hear that Masaya disappeared?" one of the girls asked.

"Miwa told me," Ichigo said. "Did they ever find him?"

"No," another girl said. "You're pretty calm about this."

"He was being a jerk, and I was planning on breaking up with him before he disappeared," Ichigo said. "I thought it would be better for both of us. I never got the chance, though."

"Do you have any idea why he disappeared?" the same girl asked.

"Not a clue," Ichigo said. "Hey, where are Moe and Miwa?"

"They got suspended," a girl said. Ichigo noticed a lot of girls glaring at a nervous-looking girl with reddish brown hair.

"Why?" Ichigo asked.

"Tsuki was bad-mouthing you, and she got her friends to say things too," another girl said. "Moe and Miwa found out Tsuki was behind it all, and they beat her up, along with her best friend, who was also bad-mouthing you. Tsuki went to the principal and he suspended Moe and Miwa, but also gave Tsuki a month of detention for talking about you behind your back. Moe and Miwa will be back next week."

Ichigo sighed. "Those two are so overprotective," she said. "This is what, the second time they've been suspended?"

"Actually it's the third," a girl said. "You're lucky you have such good friends, Ichigo."

"I know, but I don't like it when they get in trouble," Ichigo said. "It causes problems at home."

"That's true, but if they hadn't done that, I'm sure your school life would be a lot worse," the girl said. "But while they're gone, we'll keep Tsuki under control." She laughed, and said, "We don't want to get on your friends' bad side either!"

Ichigo smiled. "Thanks," she said. Then the bell rang, and they all ran to class.

After school, Ichigo was walking out when a girl came up to her. Ichigo remembered that her name was Momo, and said, "You're Momo, right?"

"Hai," Momo said. "I heard you weren't in school because your parents got a note that someone was out to kill you. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, thanks," Ichigo said. "I worked at Café Mew Mew, and the owner wanted me to go out with him. But I didn't realize that, and told him I hated him- which was true, but he took it badly, and ran off. Two days later, his assistant found a note on his computer, saying that he'd be back for revenge on me. His assistant went to my parents and the police, and they handled it."

"Wow," Momo said. "But why did he leave the note with his assistant?"

"My dad is very overprotective," Ichigo said. "He knew that, and since my dad has a sword in the basement and a flamethrower in the garage, he didn't want to go to my house."

"Would your dad actually have killed him?" Momo asked.

"Most likely," Ichigo said. "I'm glad the police handled it, though. Otherwise, my dad would be in jail."

"Yikes," Momo said.

Ichigo looked at her watch and yelped. "Jeez, is that the time?" she asked.

Momo checked her watch and said, "If you've got 4:15, then yes. Something wrong?"

"I was supposed to meet my boyfriend at 4!" Ichigo wailed. "I have to go, can we talk another time?"

"Sure, good luck!" Momo said.

Ichigo nodded and ran off.

She was halfway to the park, where she was going to meet Kisshu, when she ran into someone. "Sorry!" she said.

"Hey, I was just about to come looking for you," the person said.

Ichigo looked up. It was Kisshu! "Sorry, I was talking to one of the girls at my school," Ichigo said. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Kisshu said. "But we have to go to the Café, Pai and Keiichiro called a meeting." He took her hand and teleported.

They landed in the basement, where everyone else was gathered, including the police. "Good, you're here," Pai said. "I finished researching whether Deep Blue could come back, and came to the conclusion that with nothing but a spirit, he won't be a problem anymore. However, he can speak to our people, and if he convinces them that we're traitors, we'll be living here."

"That's fine," Ichigo said. "But what about healing your planet?"

"I'll go back with the Mew Aqua alone," Pai said. "I've got the best chance of getting out of there in one piece."

"You're going _alone_?" Kisshu asked. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"Better me than you," Pai said. "You were the leader of the mission, so our people would be more likely to attack you than me."

"What about me?" Taruto asked.

"You know perfectly well that if you went, Pudding would sneak onto the ship too," Pai said. "Stay here with her, and keep her safe."

Kisshu sighed. "Be careful, Pai," he said, serious for once. "We don't want to lose you."

"You won't," Pai said. He went to Lettuce, and kissed her. She kissed back, and when the broke apart, she said, "Please be careful, and come back safe."

"I will, Lettuce-chan," Pai said.

"I'll get the Mew Aqua," Keiichiro said. He went to a safe and typed in a code, then took out a bag. He checked to make sure it was all there, then handed the bag to Pai. "Good luck," Keiichiro told Pai.

"Thanks," Pai said. "Take care, all of you."

The others nodded, and Pai teleported off.

**Will Pai be okay? Find out by reviewing! The next chapter might not get there, though.**


	25. Fun and Games

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 25:**

**Fun and Games**

After Pai left, Ichigo took Kisshu back to her house. Pai had had him and Taruto pack some of their stuff, since they'd be staying on Earth. He also gave both of them a bottle of pills that would change their ears if they wanted to go somewhere. Pai had said he'd be back in about three days, so they had to wait for news.

Ichigo and Kisshu walked back to her house. "I think when you start living with us full-time, you'll need some different clothes," Ichigo told Kisshu.

"Why?" Kisshu asked.

"Boys don't usually wear shirts that show their stomach," Ichigo said. "Knowing my mom, she'll be signing you up for school too, so you'll need to get used to human clothes. My school requires uniforms."

Kisshu sighed, but they had reached her house, so he didn't say anything. Ichigo went and opened the door, and called out, "We're back!"

Sakura came to the living room as they walked in and took off their shoes. "I got a call from Keiichiro," she said. "I started getting the guest room set up for Kisshu already."

"Thanks, Sakura," Kisshu said. "I have my stuff with me, and Pai gave me some pills that make my ears look human, too."

"I'll take you up to the guest room," Sakura said. "Ichigo, do you have homework?"

"Not this weekend," Ichigo replied. "The teachers were happy with my work during my absence."

"Good," Sakura said. "Do you want to get some of the pound cake out for you and Kisshu?"

"Sure," Ichigo said. She put her stuff away and went to the kitchen as Kisshu followed Sakura upstairs.

Ichigo looked around for the pound cake, and found it on the counter on a cutting board. She cut two pieces, and got plates. Then she poured two glasses of milk, and set them on the table as Kisshu came back downstairs. "Your mom gave me the tour," Kisshu said. "You've got a nice house."

"Thanks," Ichigo said. "I like it here. I cut us some pound cake, do you want some?"

"What's poundcake?" Kisshu asked.

"It's a type of cake. It's thicker than most cakes, and my mom puts chocolate chips in hers," Ichigo replied. "It's really good."

Kisshu sat down at the table with Ichigo, and tried some of the pound cake. "You're right, this is really good," he said. "I like things with chocolate."

"I don't think I know anyone who doesn't like chocolate," Ichigo said. "What else do you like to eat?"

"I like a lot of things," Kisshu said. "There wasn't much food on our planet, so coming here and finding all kinds of food was really cool. I like most things except bananas and raw vegetables. And I hate carrots."

"Me too," Ichigo said. "My parents finally gave up trying to make me eat carrots last year. It was such a relief when Dad said, "We won't make you eat carrots anymore." But then he went into a rant about how other vegetables were good for me, and started listing the best vegetables. I just tuned him out, so I still don't really know what vegetables are good for me."

Kisshu laughed and said, "I don't understand why grown-ups are so dead set on making kids eat vegetables. And I will _never _understand the appeal in carrots."

Ichigo laughed. "Neither will I."

Sakura came in and said, "I finished setting up the guest room. What were you guys laughing at?"

"Kisshu hates carrots too, Mom!" Ichigo said excitedly.

"Is that a good thing?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, because now you and Dad will have to admit that I'm not the only person in the world who hates carrots," Ichigo said.

Sakura sighed. "Kisshu, is there anything else you don't like?" she asked.

"I don't really like raw vegetables, and I'm allergic to bananas," Kisshu said. "I'll eat most raw vegetables if they're put in front of me, but not broccoli."

"Ichigo doesn't like raw broccoli either," Sakura said. "And you're allergic to bananas?"

"Yeah, found out the hard way," Kisshu said.

"Do I want to know?" Sakura asked.

"I got pretty sick," Kisshu said. "Although part of it turned out to be a stomach bug, but Pai said that it was caused by the bananas."

"I think I'll go get rid of the bunch I have in the kitchen," Sakura said. "And I'll let Shintaro know too."

"Thanks," Kisshu said. Sakura left a minute later with the bananas.

"Do you have any other allergies, Kisshu?" Ichigo asked.

"Not that I know of," Kisshu said.

"Do you like fruit?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, can you guess my favorite kind?" Kisshu asked.

Ichigo smiled and said, "Strawberries?"

"Jeez, I'm really predictable, aren't I?" Kisshu asked.

"Sometimes," Ichigo said, still smiling. "Would you like to play a game?"

"What did you have in mind?" Kisshu asked.

"How about Twenty Questions?" Ichigo asked.

"What's that?" Kisshu asked.

"You pick a category, like animals for example, and the other person has twenty questions to guess it," Ichigo said. "And you can only ask yes or no questions. Want me to think of something first?"

"Sure," Kisshu said.

"Okay, I'm thinking of an animal," Ichigo said. "Now you have to ask a bunch of questions to figure out what animal I'm thinking of."

"Is it a cat?" Kisshu asked.

"No," Ichigo said.

Kisshu thought, then asked, "Is it brown?"

"No," Ichigo said.

"Is it gray?"

"Yes."

Kisshu smirked. "Is it a Finless Porpoise?"

"HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT?" Ichigo shouted.

Kisshu just smirked.

"You do know that mind-reading is against the rules, right?" Ichigo asked. Kisshu drooped.

"Is it my turn?" Kisshu asked.

"Yes," Ichigo said.

"Okay, I'm think of something scary," Kisshu said.

"A ghost?" Ichigo asked.

"They don't exist," Kisshu said.

"Is it human?"

"Yes."

"Is it a guy?"

"Yes."

"Does he have black hair?"

"Yes…"

"Is he my dad?"

"AAARGH!"

"Don't feel bad, I'm just really good at this game," Ichigo said. "Okay, I'm thinking of a holiday, and NO mind-reading this time."

Kisshu sighed, but asked, "Is it in summer?"

"No."

"Is it in winter?"

"Yes."

"Is it Christmas?"

"Jeez that was fast."

"My turn!" Kisshu said happily. "I'm thinking of a holiday too."

"Is it in winter?"

"No."

"Summer?"

"No."

"Spring?"

"Yes."

"Hana Matsuri?"

"No."

"Kamakura Festival?"

"What's that?"

"A big festival. Is the holiday Japanese?"

"No."

"Is the holiday someone's birthday?"

"Yes."

"Is it April 19th?"

"Yes."

"So it's my birthday?"

"Yep. That took you a while."

Ichigo sighed and tried to think of something when her parents both came in. "How's it going?" Sakura asked.

"Great, we were playing Twenty Questions," Kisshu said.

"Who's winning?" Shintaro asked.

"We're tied," Ichigo said.

Shintaro looked at Kisshu and asked, "She hasn't beaten you yet? She creams me in every game I play with her."

"Really? This is the first time I heard of this game," Kisshu said.

"Dad's just not good at guessing," Ichigo said. "I'm too smart for him."

"HEY!" Shintaro said indignantly. "Is that any way to talk about your father?"

Ichigo smiled angelically and said, "It is if it's true."

Kisshu and Sakura were snickering at this exchange. Finally Sakura collected herself and said, "I'm going to go make dinner, and let you two work this out."

"What are you making?" Ichigo asked.

"Chicken katsu," Sakura said. "And a salad."

"Great, I love chicken katsu," Ichigo said. "Kisshu, do you like it?"

"What is it?" Kisshu asked.

"It's fried chicken strips sliced really thin," Ichigo explained.

"I LOVE fried food," Kisshu said. "I don't usually eat it though; Pai's a disaster in the kitchen. And Taruto and I aren't great cooks either."

"What makes Pai a disaster in the kitchen?" Shintaro asked.

"He either leaves something in the oven too long, or he accidentally poisons it with something," Kisshu replied. "I prefer the smoke alarm to what happened the last time Pai cooked."

"What happened?" Ichigo asked.

"We all were throwing up all night," Kisshu said. "It's a good thing we have more than one bathroom. And because Taruto gulped half of his before realizing it was actually poisonous, he got the worst of it. I didn't fare too badly, because I took one bite and that was it, but that was also the time I ate a banana after dinner, and that made things worse."

"And Pai?" Shintaro asked.

"He got pretty sick too," Kisshu said. "And after that, we told him he couldn't cook anymore. Instead, we went and stole a bunch of ramen and a few other easy things, like bread and cheese, and we basically eat mainly ramen, grilled cheese, and cereal. Oh, and whatever vegetables we find in the fridge."

"That doesn't sound very healthy," Shintaro said.

"That's why we get a lot of exercise," Kisshu said.

"Sakura informed me that you're allergic to bananas," Shintaro commented.

"Yeah, I get pretty sick eating them, so I avoid them," Kisshu replied. "Pai never stocked the ship with them again."

"Can you eat other fruits and vegetables?" Shintaro asked.

"I prefer fruit to vegetables, and I hate carrots and raw broccoli, but yes, I can eat basically anything besides bananas," Kisshu said. "I like strawberries a lot."

"I think I know why," Shintaro said. "Ichigo, right?"

"Yup," Kisshu said.

Sakura came in and said, "Dinner's almost ready, who wants to set the table?"

"I'll do it," Kisshu said. He went back to the kitchen with Sakura.

"He's polite, at least," Shintaro said after Kisshu left.

"Yeah," Ichigo said. "I think Kisshu's awesome."

"I'm aware of that," Shintaro said. "I guess I won't get anywhere objecting, will I?"

"Nope," Ichigo said sweetly.

Kisshu came back with a bunch of chopsticks and napkins, and said, "You think I'm awesome, Koneko-chan?"

"Didn't you already know that?" Ichigo asked. "And don't eavesdrop."

"I can't help having amazing hearing," Kisshu said, smirking as he started setting the table.

**I thought this chapter was really fun. I know it has a bad ending, but I like it. And I know Twenty Questions is only supposed to be Animals, Vegetables or Minerals, but that's not what I grew up with, so I put my family's version in here. Review plz!**


	26. Return

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 26:**

**Return**

It had been two days since Pai left, and the others were getting worried, since they couldn't contact him. Lettuce in particular was really worried, which made sense, but the others spent a lot of time trying to calm her down.

Finally, two days later, Keiichiro called everyone into the basement and said, "The computers detected a spaceship approaching Earth. I don't know whether it's Pai's, but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."

"Do you know how close the ship is?" Lettuce asked.

"It's already here," Keiichiro said. "Where it landed, I don't know."

"Is there a way to find out?" Ichigo asked.

Keiichiro typed something into the computer, and a window came up. "It's on the outskirts of Tokyo," Keiichiro said. "Should we check it out?"

"Yes, but I think all of us should go, in case it's not Pai," Lettuce said. "Keiichiro, you've got a car, right?"

"Actually, it's a van, and I think we can all squeeze in," Keiichiro said. "Let's go."

They went outside and all piled into the van. It was a tight fit, but no one complained. Keiichiro had brought the location, and Zakuro was his navigator. He drove to the location, where they found a large field. "I think whoever it is used the cloaking device," Kisshu said. "I guess we should get out."

Everyone got out of the van, and walked toward a place where the grass was flattened. Kisshu put a hand out, and his hand hit something. "Yep, it's here," he said. "I'll go in, so stay here."

The others nodded, but everyone was worried. Kisshu teleported, and they waited.

Fifteen minutes later, Kisshu hadn't returned, and everyone was talking about what to do. Finally Taruto said, "I'm going in. If something's wrong, I'll teleport back out and tell you guys."

"Okay," Ichigo said. Taruto teleported into the ship, and the others waited.

They didn't wait long. Taruto teleported back out five minutes later, with Kisshu and Pai in tow. Both of them were unconscious, and Taruto was coughing. "What _happened_?" Ichigo asked.

"There was some kind of smoke in the cockpit," Taruto said when he caught his breath. "I think it knocked Pai and Kisshu out. I can teleport them back to Café Mew Mew, so you should get there as fast as you can."

"Got it," Keiichiro said. He and the girls ran to the van as Taruto teleported out. Keiichiro drove fast back to the Café, and they all ran in. Taruto was in the main room with Kisshu and Pai, who were still unconscious. "Let's get them to the upstairs rooms," Keiichiro said. He and Zakuro picked up Pai, and Ichigo and Lettuce picked up Kisshu. They put them in different rooms, and Keiichiro got some of his medical equipment from the basement.

Keiichiro checked out Pai first, then Kisshu, and said, "I think that the smoke Taruto mentioned might have been some kind of sleeping gas. If they breathed it in, which it seems they did, they'll be out for about a day. Maybe longer in Pai's case. We just have to wait for them to wake up. Ichigo, Lettuce, call your parents and tell them that you need to stay here."

"Okay," Ichigo said. She took out her cell phone and scrolled through her contacts, then pressed send when she found 'Home'. Luckily, it was Sakura who picked up, so Ichigo said, "Mom, Pai's back, but something happened to him and Kisshu and I need to stay here till Kisshu's awake. Lettuce is staying too. If I'm not back by tomorrow morning, can you call the school and tell them I'm sick?"

"Sure sweetie," Sakura said. "Do you want me to come there too?"

"If you can, I'd like that," Ichigo said.

"I'm on my way," Sakura said. She hung up.

Ichigo turned to Keiichiro and said, "My mom's coming, and she says it's fine to stay here."

"Good," Keiichiro said. "I told Lettuce's family that she's having a sleepover with you, so her mom knows to call your mom if something happens."

"Okay," Ichigo said.

Sakura came in a while later, and said, "I brought you some clothes, and I made some soup, too. Where's Kisshu?"

"Upstairs," Ichigo said. "Thanks Mom."

"Sure," Sakura said. "I brought sleeping bags too, since you said you might be staying overnight. I brought one for Lettuce too."

"Thank you, Mrs. Momomiya," Lettuce said.

"You're welcome," Sakura said. She turned to Ichigo and asked, "Should we go check on Kisshu?"

"Good plan," Ichigo said. She and Sakura went upstairs, and went to the room where Kisshu was staying. Kisshu was still unconscious, so they dragged some chairs over and sat down next to him.

By about 7, Ichigo was getting hungry. Luckily for her, Keiichiro came in and said, "I made some fried tofu and chicken as well as rice. You should take a break."

"I don't suppose we could eat in here?" Ichigo asked.

"You've been sitting there for four hours, it's break time," Keiichiro said firmly.

Ichigo and Sakura both sighed, then followed Keiichiro downstairs, and ate dinner with him and Lettuce. Ichigo and Lettuce both ate their dinner quickly and went back upstairs while Sakura helped Keiichiro clean up.

Sakura joined Ichigo a while later, and they continued watching Kisshu. Five hours later, neither of them could keep their eyes open, so they laid out the sleeping bags and went to sleep.

The next morning, they saw that Kisshu was still unconscious. And Keiichiro was making pancakes, so they cleaned up and went downstairs again. Like last night, Ichigo and Lettuce bolted their food, and went straight back upstairs while Sakura and Keiichiro cleaned up.

Two hours after Sakura came back upstairs, Kisshu started to stir. "Kisshu?" Ichigo asked softly.

Kisshu opened his eyes and turned his head. "Ichigo? What happened?" he asked.

"I think you breathed something in while you were on that ship," Ichigo said. "Taruto got you and Pai out of there, and you've been unconscious since yesterday afternoon. It's about noon right now."

"I remember going into the cockpit and finding Pai unconscious, but then the room started spinning, and that's all I remember till I woke up here," Kisshu said. "How's Pai?"

"Not sure, Lettuce was watching him," Ichigo said. "I've been in here with you. How are you feeling?"

"I think I'm fine," Kisshu said. "But my throat feels kind of funny."

"Maybe it's from breathing in that smoke Taruto mentioned," Ichigo said. "I'll get Keiichiro, maybe he'll know."

Kisshu tried to reply, but started coughing instead. "I'll get Keiichiro," Sakura said. "Ichigo, stay here."

Ichigo nodded and helped Kisshu sit up as he continued coughing. Sakura ran out, and returned with Keiichiro a few minutes later. By this point, Kisshu was coughing so hard he couldn't breathe, and Ichigo was scared. Just as Keiichiro came over, though, Ichigo began to glow bright pink. Strangely, she remained in human form as her body was enveloped in pink light. The pink light suddenly traveled from her to Kisshu, and he slowly stopped coughing. Then the pink light flashed, and began to fade. Kisshu's breathing had returned to normal!

"Kisshu, are you okay?" Ichigo asked.

"Thanks to you, yes," Kisshu said. "Looks like you have a new power."

"I guess so," Ichigo said. She sounded tired.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kisshu asked her.

"I'm just tired," Ichigo said.

"You can have the bed," Kisshu said, and got up. Ichigo took off her shoes and lay down, then fell asleep. Kisshu sat down next to her, just before they heard coughing from Pai's room. Kisshu, Sakura and Keiichiro ran to the room, just as a green light surrounded Lettuce, and like Ichigo, she stayed human. The green light traveled to Pai, and flashed, then faded. Pai looked at her, and said, "Lettuce-chan, you can heal?"

"I guess so," Lettuce said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks," Pai said. He noticed the others in the doorway, and said, "Hi, what's up?"

"Ichigo just did that exact same healing thing to Kisshu," Keiichiro said. "It looks like they gained the same power."

"Well, that's good news," Pai said. He got up just in time to catch Lettuce as she fell asleep.

"Ichigo's sleeping next door," Keiichiro said softly. "We should let them rest."

Pai nodded and tucked Lettuce into the bed. Sakura and Kisshu left as Pai sat down next to Lettuce and Keiichiro went back downstairs.

Kisshu and Sakura went back to the room where Ichigo was staying, and sat down next to her.

**Interesting, right? Ichigo and Lettuce both gained the power to heal! Review plz!**


	27. Pai's Report

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 27:**

**Pai's Report**

Ichigo and Lettuce both woke up that night, with no ill effects from healing. Keiichiro made them some dinner, and then Ichigo, Sakura and Kisshu left to go home.

The next day was a Saturday, and Pai and Keiichiro called everyone together to hear the news from Cyniclonia.

Once everyone was gathered in the basement, including the police, Pai said, "I went to Cyniclonia, and immediately got summoned to meet with the elders. As we predicted, they had heard from Deep Blue, and they were not happy with us. I was able to heal the planet, but we've all been exiled, with the death sentence if we go back. I did learn that Deep Blue isn't sending anyone else to Earth; it seems his spirit disappeared after he told the elders about us. So Earth isn't in danger anymore, but Kisshu, Taruto and I will need to live here."

"That's fine," Keiichiro said. "Pai, you and Taruto are welcome to the rooms upstairs, and I'm sure Kisshu will be fine living with Ichigo and her parents."

"Keiichiro, if Pai's living here, just remember to keep him far away from the kitchen," Kisshu said.

"Why?" Keiichiro asked.

"He has a bad habit of forgetting about the things he's cooking," Kisshu said. "Unless you like the smoke alarm, it's a bad idea to let him cook. Oh, and there was that time he poisoned us…."

"I understand," Keiichiro said as Pai glared at Kisshu. "I won't let him near the kitchen."

"Good," Kisshu and Taruto said in unison.

"Is there anything else?" Keiichiro asked.

"Not that I can think of," Pai said.

"Then I guess we can all go home," Keiichiro said. "Thank you for all your hard work, everyone."

The others all nodded, and went their separate ways.

When Ichigo and Kisshu got home, Sakura was on the phone. When she saw them, she covered the mouthpiece and asked, "Kisshu, what's your last name?"

"Ikisatashi," Kisshu said.

"Thanks," Sakura said, and went back to the phone. Ichigo and Kisshu went upstairs, and sat down on Ichigo's bed.

"What do you think she's doing?" Kisshu asked.

"Probably signing you up for school," Ichigo said. "I hope we have all the same classes."

"So do I," Kisshu said.

A while later, Sakura came upstairs and said, "Okay, Kisshu, I signed you up to go to Ichigo's school. You should have all your classes together, and I informed the principal that you've never been to a public school, so I would like Ichigo to show you around. He agreed to that, so you should be all set. I'm going to go get your uniform, and I think you should have some other human clothes, too. That outfit is going to attract mostly unwanted attention."

"Okay," Kisshu said. "Do I need to go with you?"

"No, I'll be fine," Sakura said, smiling. "You two have fun!"

"Thanks Mom," Ichigo said.

"Yeah, thanks," Kisshu said.

"You're welcome," Sakura said, and left. She came back later that day, with a bunch of clothes for Kisshu, as well as his school uniform. "You're starting on Monday," she told him. "Ichigo walks to school, so she can show you the way."

"I actually already know where it is," Kisshu admitted.

"Yeah, I'm not surprised," Ichigo said. "Before we got together, didn't you spend all your time stalking me?"

"Um… some of the time I was at the ship," Kisshu said.

"Why were you stalking her, Kisshu?" Sakura asked.

"I wanted her to be in love with me, so I'd follow her around," Kisshu said sheepishly. "She didn't usually see me, though. Which was good, because I told Pai that I was gathering information, not stalking."

"Yeah, you know a lot about me," Ichigo said. "Which is good, because I don't have to tell you what I do and don't like."

"I guess stalking you was a good thing," Kisshu said. "Besides, that's how I found out you were sick."

"And that's what led to us cooperating," Ichigo said.

"That reminds me, how was that meeting?" Sakura asked.

"Pai informed us we've all been exiled," Kisshu said. "But he managed to heal the planet, so that's the good news."

"Well, you're welcome to live with us," Sakura said.

"Thanks, Sakura," Kisshu said. Sakura smiled, and left Ichigo and Kisshu alone.

**Well, I think that's it for tonight. I'll post more tomorrow, I think. Review!**


	28. Kisshu at School

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 28:**

**Kisshu at School**

Monday morning, Kisshu and Ichigo got up, showered, and walked to school together. They got there on time and Ichigo took Kisshu to the principal's office to check in. Pai had given Kisshu a bunch of the pills that made his ears look human. Kisshu didn't like the school uniform, but understood that he had to wear it.

The principal looked at the paper with Kisshu's information, and said, "Your name is Ikisatashi Kisshu, correct?"

"Yes, sir," Kisshu said.

"It says here you've never been to a public school, so I'm going to have Ichigo here show you around. She'll be in all your classes as well. You can both go now," the principal said.

Ichigo and Kisshu bowed and left. "Kisshu, do you know much about Japanese history?" Ichigo asked. "That's our first class."

"That was part of the research Pai did on Earth, so yes," Kisshu said.

They reached the classroom, and the teacher looked up. "Ichigo, is this the new student?" he asked.

"Hai, Sensei," Ichigo said. "This is Ikisatashi Kisshu."

"Nice to meet you, Kisshu," the teacher said. "Your seat is next to Ichigo, so you may both sit down."

Kisshu and Ichigo bowed and took their seats, as the teacher started the lesson. Ichigo noticed that Moe and Miwa were back, and she also noticed that a LOT of girls were staring at Kisshu.

After class, Moe and Miwa came up to Ichigo and Kisshu. They pulled Ichigo aside and Miwa asked, "How'd you get to show the hottest guy in school around?"

"He's my boyfriend, and he's never been to a public school," Ichigo said. "Oh, and he's living with me and my parents."

"You do realize I can hear everything you're saying, right?" Kisshu asked.

Moe and Miwa squeaked, but Ichigo said, "Sorry, Kisshu. I haven't talked to Moe and Miwa in a while, since they got suspended again."

"Why did you two get suspended?" Kisshu asked.

Miwa looked down, but Moe said without any remorse, "We beat up these girls who were bad-mouthing Ichigo. They deserved it."

"Good for you, although it's too bad you got suspended," Kisshu said.

"Thanks," Moe said, blushing slightly.

The bell rang, and the four of them went to their next class, Math.

Finally it was recess, and Ichigo, Kisshu, Moe and Miwa sat down under a tree to talk. "So how'd you two meet?" Moe asked.

"Café Mew Mew," Ichigo said. "Kisshu came there sometimes, and we got close."

"Cool," Miwa said. "How's Keiichiro?"

"Fine," Ichigo said.

"And how's Ryou?" Moe asked.

"You didn't hear?" Kisshu asked as Ichigo's face turned stony.

"Uh-oh, what happened?" Miwa asked.

"Ryou got mad because I chose Kisshu over him and sent me a death threat," Ichigo said. "He's gone for good now, though. I say good riddance, he was always treating me like dirt."

Miwa and Moe both looked absolutely horrified. "So that's why you were gone so long?" Miwa asked.

"Yeah, my parents sent me to live with a friend of theirs till the whole thing blew over," Ichigo said.

"Wow, I'm glad you're okay," Moe said.

"Thanks," Ichigo said.

Suddenly Kisshu said, "Ichigo, those girls are staring at me. Why is that?"

"They probably think you're hot," Ichigo said. "Now that Aoyama's gone, they're probably looking for someone else to swarm."

"That's scary," Kisshu said.

"Don't worry, we'll protect you," Ichigo, Moe and Miwa said in unison.

Kisshu smiled, but his smile faded as one of the girls came over and said, "Kisshu, would you like to eat with us?"

"No thanks," Kisshu said.

"Well, anytime you want, look me up, I'm Akai," the girl said, and left.

Not even five minutes later, another girl came over and asked the same thing. And so it went on, until Kisshu started getting annoyed. Then the seventh girl came up to him, and he snapped. "My first day here, and I can't even eat in peace?" he asked harshly. "For your information, I already have a girlfriend, and I would really appreciate it if you and your friends would LEAVE ME ALONE!" He turned to Ichigo, and said, "Ichigo, is there somewhere else where we could go where these girls won't bug me?"

"Inside," Ichigo said. Kisshu immediately grabbed her hand and started running, followed by Moe and Miwa.

They got inside, and Kisshu breathed a sigh of relief. "They're weird," he said. "Were they like that with the treehugger too?"

"Yep, and maybe worse, since he was on the kendo team," Ichigo said.

"I'm definitely not joining the kendo team, then," Kisshu said.

"That might be a good thing," Ichigo said. "Maybe we should head up to the classroom; there are girls staring in the window at you."

"That's creepy," Kisshu said. "I'm glad I already have a girlfriend."

Ichigo smiled and said, "I'm glad to be your girlfriend, Kisshu."

Kisshu smiled back and took her hand. She thought he was going to leave it at that, but then he pulled her over and kissed her. Ichigo kissed back, but broke it off soon after and said, "We really shouldn't kiss inside the school, it's technically against the rules."

"Aww…" Kisshu said.

"You'll survive," Ichigo said. "And you can kiss me on the way home."

"YES!" Kisshu said happily. Ichigo smiled, and towed him toward the next class.

The rest of the day was the same; girls staring at Kisshu, and him trying to ignore them. Finally it was time to go home, and Ichigo and Kisshu were walking out when another girl walked up to Kisshu. Before she could say anything, though, Kisshu said, "The answer is no."

The girl looked surprised, and said, "How did you know I was going to ask if you wanted to eat lunch together tomorrow?"

"Because every other girl has asked me the same thing, and I'm sick of it," Kisshu said. "I'm developing a profound dislike of the girls in this school. Except for Ichigo, Moe and Miwa. They're nice."

"So which one of those losers is your girlfriend?" the girl asked.

"Ichigo, and none of them are losers," Kisshu said angrily. "I suggest you and the other girls leave us alone, or a lot of people are going to be very unhappy once I'm done with them. You and all the girls who spend their time staring at me are the real losers."

The girl's eyes filled with tears, but Kisshu ignored that, grabbed Ichigo's hand, and started walking. As soon as they were out of sight, Kisshu looked around, and then teleported.

They ended up in a field of flowers, and Kisshu flopped down on the ground. Ichigo sat next to him, and asked, "Are you okay?"

Kisshu sighed. "That was irritating," he said. "It's too bad we have to go back. I think that everyone in that school except for the teachers is nuts."

"Well, I'm sure you'll be fine," Ichigo said. "I'll help you, and so will Moe and Miwa."

"Good, I think I'll need all the help I can get," Kisshu said. "Let's go home." He teleported himself and Ichigo to her front door, and they went in. They took their shoes off and went to the kitchen.

Sakura was in there, pulling what looked like an apple pie out of the oven. "How was school?" she asked.

"Awful," Kisshu said.

"Uh-oh, what happened?" Sakura asked.

"ALL the girls were driving me nuts, except Ichigo, Moe and Miwa," Kisshu said.

"Maybe I should have a talk with your principal," Sakura said thoughtfully. "That's not good for anyone. The girls don't pay attention to their studies, and you can't concentrate."

"Maybe that's a good idea," Ichigo said. "He could talk to all our teachers, and they could handle it."

"I'll do that, then," Sakura said. She went to look for the phone, and Ichigo and Kisshu went upstairs to put their stuff away. Kisshu took his homework out, and he and Ichigo took it downstairs to start it together.

Sakura came in when they were halfway done and said, "Alright, the principal said he'd handle it, and that you should just try to keep calm."

"Okay, thanks," Kisshu said.

"Do either of you want apple pie?" Sakura asked.

"Sure, is there whipped cream?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes," Sakura said. "Kisshu, do you want whipped cream too?"

"What is it?" Kisshu asked.

"It's heavy cream mixed with sugar, then whipped up till it's not liquid anymore," Sakura said. "It's really good. Ichigo loves it."

"Okay," Kisshu said. Sakura got out the whipped cream, cut two pieces of pie, and put whipped cream on them. She then gave them to Kisshu and Ichigo. Kisshu tried his, and said, "This is _amazing_."

"Thanks," Sakura said with a smile.

Kisshu was finished way before Ichigo. Ichigo looked at him and giggled.

"What?" Kisshu asked.

"You've got whipped cream all over your face," Ichigo said, still giggling.

Kisshu got a napkin, and wiped his face off. "Better?" he asked.

"Yes," Ichigo said. "That was cute."

Kisshu smirked.

**Awful chapter ending, I know. Plz review anyways.**


	29. Back to School

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 29:**

**Back to School**

The next day, Ichigo and Kisshu went back to school. Kisshu was nervous, but Ichigo told him it would be fine.

She turned out to be right. In their first class, the teacher picked up a paper on his desk and said, "I received a note from the principal and a few other teachers, saying that the girls in their classes are spending too much time daydreaming and staring at Kisshu. I have been told to tell all of you, that if I catch someone staring or daydreaming, that person will be in detention for a week. Kisshu doesn't need to be distracted, and frankly, I think some of you could use this as an opportunity to work harder. Especially you, Miss Kairi."

The rest of the students edged away from a red-faced girl in the back row who had been snickering through the announcement. The teacher continued, "If we all are clear on the new rules, I would like to start the lesson."

"Sensei, I have a question about the new rules," a girl said.

"Go ahead," the teacher sighed.

"Who brought this issue up?" the girl asked.

"I don't believe that's any of your business, Miss Akino," the teacher said. "Can we proceed with the lesson, or does anyone else have questions?" His tone made it clear that further questions were not welcome.

No one commented, so the teacher began the lesson.

At recess, though, things started to heat up. No one had been staring at Kisshu, but both Ichigo and Kisshu could feel the negative energy. None of the girls were happy, except for Moe and Miwa.

Moe and Miwa were ecstatic that the girl who their history teacher had humiliated was now in detention. Now they were gloating about it quietly, as Ichigo and Kisshu went to eat under their favorite tree. "So, what's got Moe and Miwa so happy?" Kisshu asked.

"The girl who our history teacher humiliated this morning is Miwa's archenemy," Ichigo explained. "She's in detention for a week, and Moe and Miwa are gloating about it over there." Ichigo pointed to another tree, where Moe and Miwa were sitting, cackling about their archenemy's humiliation.

"Do you have an archenemy?" Kisshu asked.

"Now that you and I are a couple, no," Ichigo said with a grin.

"What about Moe?" Kisshu asked.

"I'd guess either the girl they're cackling about, or Morina Tsuki," Ichigo said. "Although currently, everyone in the school avoids Tsuki, because Moe and Miwa beat her up. That's the girl they told you they beat up because she was bad-mouthing me. No one wants to get beat up, so they avoid Tsuki and anyone else who hurts me. Moe and Miwa are overprotective of me."

"Like your dad?" Kisshu asked.

"Not that bad," Ichigo said. "They're overprotective in the sense that anyone who hurts me _gets _hurt, but they don't limit what I do or who I'm with unless they know the person is bad news. They hear more gossip than I do, so they tend to be up-to-date on who's bad and who's not."

"It's great that you have friends like that," Kisshu said.

"Don't be surprised if they act like that in your defense either," Ichigo said. "They'll attack anyone who harms their friends. The captain of the martial arts team, this huge guy, called me ugly one day, and ever since then, he avoids Moe and Miwa like the plague. They really let him have it. Apparently they actually made him cry- in front of his teammates. But instead of taking revenge or hurting me, people who run into Moe and Miwa's bad side stop hurting me, and others as well. I think the school lives in fear of my friends."

"Well, as long as you don't get hurt, I'm happy," Kisshu said. "I hope they and I don't have to beat anyone up though."

"I hope so too," Ichigo said.

Kisshu looked over at a group of girls and boys, and said, "Why are they surrounding that girl?"

Ichigo looked, just as the shouting started. "That's Momo!" she said, worried. "She seemed really nice, I wonder what's going on. She's the one I was talking to that day I was supposed to meet you in the park."

"Should we help her?" Kisshu asked.

"Yeah, but let's tell Moe and Miwa first," Ichigo said. She went over to them and said, "Guys, those girls are attacking Momo!"

"Oh not AGAIN," Miwa said.

"What's up with that?" Kisshu asked.

"Momo stood up to Tsuki when she was bad-mouthing Ichigo, and that got her into heaps of trouble with the other girls," Miwa explained. "And she has an awful home life, so she doesn't know how to stand up for herself. We've been trying to help her, but she just shuts everyone out now."

"Let's at least go stop them from hurting her," Ichigo said. Her friends nodded, so they went over to the group. "HEY!" Ichigo said. "Leave Momo alone!"

The girls turned, and one said, "Why? She insulted Tsuki, so she's getting what was coming to her."

Kisshu snarled and said, "Ganging up like that is what people who have no self-confidence do. I bet you all just beat on Momo because it makes you feel like you have power, when you really are a bunch of good-for-nothing lowlifes."

"We aren't lowlifes, but you certainly seem to be," the girl said snidely. "Maybe we should beat you up too?"

"I'd like to see you try," Kisshu said. To Ichigo, he whispered, "Don't worry about me, just get Momo out of here." Ichigo nodded as the girls all launched themselves at Kisshu. Ichigo wasn't surprised to see Moe and Miwa go to stand with him, obviously ready to fight.

Ichigo slipped around the fight and went over to Momo, who was hunched on the ground. Ichigo knelt next to her, and said, "Momo, let's get you out of here." She held out a hand to help Momo up.

Momo looked at her, and asked, "Why are you helping me?"

"Because you're a good person, and you don't deserve to be hurt," Ichigo said firmly. "My friends will hold those girls off, so let's go get help."

Momo stood up, and the girls ran off to find a teacher. They found one, and Ichigo said, "Tokaida-sensei, the girls outside are attacking my friends because they were beating up Momo!"

"I'll handle it, go tell the principal," Tokaida-sensei said. Ichigo and Momo ran off as Tokaida-sensei ran outside.

The girls reached the principal's office, and ran in. "What's wrong?" the principal asked.

"The girls outside are attacking my friends because they stopped them from beating up Momo," Ichigo said. "Tokaida-sensei told us to find you."

"On my way," the principal said. He ran out to the schoolyard, followed by Ichigo and Momo. They found Tokaida-sensei standing in front of Kisshu, Moe and Miwa, holding back the other girls. Kisshu was clutching his right shoulder. Ichigo and Momo ran to him as the principal briskly walked to stand with Tokaida-sensei. "I will not tolerate bullying in my school," he said sternly. "All of you except Kisshu, Ichigo, Moe, Miwa and Momo are now suspended for the next three weeks. And I'm going to be making phone calls to all your parents as well. Those of you not named are coming with me. Tokaida-sensei, please stay here, I'll handle this."

"Of course, sir," Tokaida-sensei said. The principal nodded, and led the girls away.

Tokaida-sensei turned to Ichigo and the others and said, "Glad that's over. Kisshu, are you okay?"

"My shoulder really hurts," Kisshu said. "One of the girls had a knife."

"Which one?" Tokaida-sensei asked.

"Kairi Anko," Moe said. "She stabbed Kisshu with her lunch knife."

"Let's go see the school nurse," Tokaida-sensei said. "Then I'll go to the principal, and have him call the police. That's illegal." He led the way back to the building, and took them to the nurse's office.

The nurse looked up and said, "I heard about the fight. What happened?"

"Kairi Anko apparently stabbed Kisshu with her lunch knife," Tokaida-sensei said. "I need you to have a look while I go to the principal."

"Sure," the nurse said. She turned to Kisshu and said, "I need you to take your shirt off, and I think you should sit down, you're looking a bit pale."

Kisshu nodded, and took his shirt off. Ichigo was getting used to this, so she didn't blush, but Moe and Miwa did. Ichigo was more concerned about the cut on Kisshu's shoulder.

The nurse looked at the cut, and said, "I can clean this out, but I think you need stitches, it's pretty deep. I'm going to call your parents, so they'll be able to handle this, okay?"

"I live with Ichigo's parents, they adopted me," Kisshu said. "Do you have their number?"

"Yes," the nurse said. "I'll call them." She went to the phone and typed in a number. There was a brief pause, then she said, "Mrs. Momomiya? Yes, this is Yuki, the nurse at Daikon Middle School. There was a bit of an incident at recess, and one of the girls stabbed Kisshu in the shoulder. Can you come get him? I think the injury needs stitching. When? Okay, thanks." She hung up and turned to Kisshu and Ichigo. "Your mom says she's picking up both of you, so you should probably go wait out front. Just let me bandage that injury, Kisshu."

Kisshu nodded, and winced as the nurse cleaned it out, and bandaged it. "You're all set for now," she told him. "You can put your shirt on."

"Thanks," Kisshu said. He got his shirt and put it back on, then stood up. Then he and Ichigo went outside. Moe and Miwa said goodbye at the door, and Sakura pulled up soon after. Kisshu and Ichigo got in, and Sakura said, "Kisshu, what happened?"

"I was helping Moe and Miwa try to stop a bunch of girls from beating up another girl, and one of them stabbed me while Ichigo got the girl they were beating out of there," Kisshu said.

"Do you want me to take you to the hospital, or do you want to see if that healing thing Ichigo did before works?" Sakura asked.

"If Ichigo doesn't mind, I'd prefer her trying to heal me," Kisshu said.

"I don't mind," Ichigo said. "We should get home first, though, I don't want to be seen."

"Good idea," Sakura said. She drove them home, and they all went to Ichigo's room. Kisshu sat on the bed, and took his shirt off again. Ichigo laid a hand on Kisshu's shoulder, and like before, she began to glow pink, but stayed in human form. The glow moved to Kisshu's shoulder, and focused on the injury. Then it flashed, and faded. The injury was completely gone. "I think you'll have to act like you still have the injury for a few days, but then you should be good," Sakura said.

Kisshu nodded, and said to Ichigo, "Thanks, Koneko-chan."

"You're welcome," Ichigo said. "I'm tired now, though."

"So am I, actually," Kisshu said.

"You've both had a pretty stressful day," Sakura said. "Why don't you both go to sleep, and I'll wake you up for dinner."

"Okay…" Kisshu and Ichigo said tiredly.

"I still think it's better if you go back to your room, though, Kisshu," Sakura said. "Shintaro's going to be home soon."

"K…" Kisshu said.

Sakura smiled and helped him up and back to his room as Ichigo fell asleep.

**Don't worry, Kisshu's fine. Ichigo's healing powers are great! Review and plz don't flame.**


	30. Secrets Revealed

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 30:**

**Secrets Revealed**

Sakura woke Kisshu and Ichigo up in time for dinner, but told them to make it an early night. They did so, and woke up the next morning feeling fine.

Both of them were nervous about going back to school, but they walked there nonetheless. Moe and Miwa met them at the front gate.

"Kisshu, are you okay?" Miwa asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kisshu said. He and Ichigo knew they had to pretend that he was still injured, so he said, "It wasn't that bad."

"I'm glad you're okay," Miwa said.

"Thanks," Kisshu said. "Should we get to class?"

"Good plan," Ichigo said. The four of them went up to their first class, and sat down together. Their history teacher walked in, and said, "Ichigo, Kisshu, Moe and Miwa, the principal wants to talk with you. Don't worry, you're not in trouble, but you should go. I'll save your work for you."

Ichigo and the others stood and bowed, then went to the principal's office. The principal looked up as they came in and said, "Thanks for coming. I wanted to inform you that Kairi Anko, the girl who stabbed Kisshu, has been expelled. I'm going to be keeping a closer eye on the girls I suspended when they come back, too. I'm sure none of us want a repeat of yesterday."

"Thanks for letting us know, sir," Ichigo said. "Was there anything else?"

"Yes, but first, Kisshu, are you okay?" the principal asked. "I heard that Anko stabbed you."

"I'm fine," Kisshu said. "It wasn't that bad."

"Good," the principal said with relief. "The other thing I wanted to talk with you about is the other students' reactions to this incident. Many students' parents have been calling me, asking if it's safe to send children to this school. The bullying issues with Haruki Momo are concerning, simply because bullying is against school rules. Up till now, we haven't had any problems, but I'm concerned about this, because it started after Ichigo and Kisshu started school. I'm not saying you two are the cause of this, so don't worry about that."

"Sir, is there something we could do to help with this?" Ichigo asked. "This bullying thing is a problem, and if we start get bullied like Momo, I'm concerned about others' reactions."

"You mean Moe and Miwa, right?" the principal asked. He turned to the two in question and said, "I'm well aware that most of the school is somewhat afraid of you two, because of how you react when someone hurts Ichigo. I don't really mind as long as you don't get too violent, since you're protecting your friend, but are you two actually okay with people fearing you?"

"We'd rather be feared than see our friends hurt because we couldn't stop it," Moe said.

Miwa continued, "It doesn't bug us; we don't want to be underestimated. It's better that we be feared, so we have the ability to protect those who can't always protect themselves."

"We've always looked out for Ichigo," Moe said. "And now we'll look out for Kisshu too."

"I'm impressed," the principal said. "I didn't realize you two thought that way. I have to admit that although I knew you were protecting Ichigo, I though you also like fighting."

"We don't really like fighting," Moe said. "But if that's what it takes to protect our friends, we'll do it."

"I hope it doesn't often come to that," the principal said. "But now that I know more about what you're thinking, I think I'll stop suspending you- provided you try not to get too out of control."

"Thank you, sir," Moe and Miwa said in unison. "We'll try not to beat anyone else up."

The principal nodded, and said, "I'd like to talk to Ichigo and Kisshu alone, so you two may go back to class."

Moe and Miwa bowed and left, waving at Ichigo and Kisshu on the way out. After they were gone, the principal sighed. "Have a seat, this might take a while," he said.

Ichigo and Kisshu glanced at each other and sat down. The principal said, "I received a phone call from Aoyama Masaya's mother yesterday. She had some very interesting information on the both of you, apparently from Masaya's diary. She apparently read it to find clues on what may have happened to him. She claims that Ichigo is in fact the Mew Ichigo from the news, and Kisshu is an alien who tried to take over the world. Later on in the diary, she found that there were a lot of mentionings of someone called Deep Blue, as well as someone called the Blue Knight. To her surprise, the Blue Knight appeared on every wall in Tokyo on a Wanted poster, soon after Masaya disappeared. She believes that you two have something to do with her son's disappearance, and asked me to talk to you, since she is a complete stranger to you. Is it possible for you to tell me more about this?"

Kisshu and Ichigo were dead white. If this came out, they were both doomed. They looked at each other, and the principal said, "I'm not going to tell anyone, if that's why you both look like that. I want to help you, and I think that learning the truth will help me handle Mrs. Aoyama, who seemed very unhappy with both of you."

Finally, Ichigo whispered, "I think I need to call Keiichiro. Kisshu, is Pai in school too?"

"Yeah, he goes to school with Lettuce," Kisshu said. "But Keiichiro should know what to do about this."

Ichigo turned to the principal and said, "I need to make a phone call, preferably on my cell phone."

"Okay, go ahead," the principal said.

Ichigo took out her cell phone and dialed Café Mew Mew. After two rings, Keiichiro picked up and said, "Ichigo, shouldn't you be in school?"

"I _am _in school, and Kisshu and I need you to come here, we've got a problem," Ichigo said.

"Does it concern the Mew Project?" Keiichiro asked warily.

"Yes," Ichigo said. "Can you come?"

"On my way," Keiichiro said. He hung up.

Ichigo turned to the principal and said, "Keiichiro should be here soon. Can it wait until he's here?"

"Yes," the principal said.

A while later, there was a knock on the door, and the principal said, "Come in."

Keiichiro came in and said, "I got a call to come here. What's going on?"

"Keiichiro, the Mew Project is in danger of being found out," Ichigo said. "Aoyama's mother found his diary and read it."

Keiichiro sank into a chair. "This is bad," he said. "If you girls are found out, everything's going to go to hell in seconds."

The principal said, "I don't really get what's going on right now, but am I to understand that Ichigo and Kisshu are a bit different from the rest of the students here?"

"I'd say that's an understatement," Keiichiro said. "What did Mrs. Aoyama tell you?"

"That Ichigo is Mew Ichigo, and Kisshu is an alien," the principal said.

Keiichiro sighed, and said, "Those statements are true. I need to impress on you the importance of keeping this quiet, though. If too many people find out, Ichigo, Kisshu, Kisshu's brothers, and the others involved in this will be in grave danger."

"I understand," the principal said. "I think I can keep Mrs. Aoyama silent too. I'll work on that, but can you tell me a bit more about this?"

"I'm sure you heard the news reports, correct?" Keiichiro asked.

"Hai," the principal said. "A group of girls with superpowers were fighting the aliens who were trying to take over the world. But a while ago, the news reports stopped, and started focusing on other things."

"Hai," Keiichiro said. "The news doesn't know this, but the reason they ran out of material is because Ichigo and Kisshu brought our groups together to form a truce. The aliens stopped attacking, in return for the means to save their home planet. Their leader had supposedly disappeared, so they agreed to the truce, and kept it even after they found out their leader was still alive."

"Forgive me for interrupting, but what does this have to do with Aoyama's disappearance?" the principal asked.

"Everything," Keiichiro replied. "We discovered that Aoyama was, in fact, the leader of the aliens. He was not truly a human, he was a puppet in the plot of the alien leader Deep Blue. Aoyama eventually was taken over, and became the Blue Knight, whose sole goal by that point was to destroy our two strongest fighters, Kisshu and Ichigo. Needless to say, he didn't succeed, and we're all safe, now that Ichigo killed him. Had he continued on, he would have fully become Deep Blue, and the world as we humans know it would cease to exist."

The principal looked shocked. After a few minutes of complete silence, he said, "Thank you for telling me all that. I swear that no one will find out about Kisshu and Ichigo from me, and I'll make up something to keep Mrs. Aoyama quiet too. Is there anything else I should know?"

"I think that's it," Keiichiro said. "I just hope no one startles Ichigo too much around here."

"Why is that?" the principal asked.

"My cat ears and tail come out when I'm startled," Ichigo said. "I can usually control it, though."

"Alright," the principal said. "Keiichiro-san, thank you for coming in."

"You're welcome," Keiichiro said. "I have to go back, but I'm sure Ichigo and Kisshu will be fine here."

"I'll make sure of it," the principal said. He turned to Ichigo and Kisshu as Keiichiro left and said, "If anything happens, come to me, and I'll handle it. Do Moe and Miwa know?"

"No sir," Ichigo said. "I think it's safer that way."

"Probably," the principal said. "Alright, you can go back to class." He looked at the clock and said, "Or recess, as the case may be."

Ichigo and Kisshu bowed, then left.

**So now the principal knows. I imagine Moe and Miwa will find out soon too, but I thought I'd tweak Soccer-Geek's idea a bit. Review plz!**


	31. Secrets Revealed Part 2

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 31:**

**Secrets Revealed Part 2**

Ichigo and Kisshu went outside to find Moe and Miwa. The two of them were sitting under a tree. They looked worried. "Hey, what's wrong?" Ichigo asked. "I thought we'd find you gloating about Anko, not worried."

"We were worried because you were with the principal for so long," Miwa said. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, the principal wanted to talk more about the problems Kisshu has with the other girls, and he lost track of time," Ichigo said. That was the story she and Kisshu had come up with.

"Any new ideas?" Moe asked.

"Just keeping a level head, but he had a few questions about why I didn't like the attention," Kisshu said. "I guess he sees a lot of boys who love the girls' attention, so he was surprised that I hate it."

"Good point," Miwa said. "Should we go inside?"

"Sure, but why?" Ichigo asked. "Isn't it recess?"

"Yeah, but there's another group of girls headed this way," Miwa explained. "I'm pretty sure you don't want to spend your lunchtime getting annoyed."

"True," Kisshu said. He took Ichigo's hand and walked inside with her, Moe and Miwa. They went to an empty room and sat down to eat their lunch.

"Hey Kisshu, you don't seem to interact with the other boys," Moe commented.

"They've all been giving me dirty looks, so I'll stick with hanging out with you three," Kisshu said. "Besides, I'm not into sports like most of them."

"What are you into?" Miwa asked.

"Carving," Kisshu replied. "My hobby is making little wood figures."

"That's so cool!" Moe said. "I wish I had a hobby like that, I always wanted to try it, but my mom is paranoid about knives and won't let me."

"That's too bad, knives are really useful tools," Kisshu said. "Hey Ichigo, did you show them what I carved for you?"

"No, but I made it into a little lanyard charm, and it's in my backpack," Ichigo said. She dug around, and produced the little figurine, which was attached to a lanyard. She showed the little kitten to Moe and Miwa.

"It's so cute!" Miwa said. "Kisshu, you really made that?"

"Yup," Kisshu said.

"You're good," Moe said.

"Thanks," Kisshu said. "I practice a lot, but I haven't had time lately. I also don't have any wood at Ichigo's, so I'll have to fix that before I start again."

"Miwa, isn't your dad a carpenter?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, he'd have wood scraps," Miwa said. "Want me to bring some over sometime?"

"That'd be great," Kisshu said. "Thanks, Miwa."

"You're welcome," Miwa said. "It's no big deal."

The bell rang soon after, and the four of them went to class. Finally the day ended, and they decided to walk to Miwa's house for wood.

They were taking a shortcut when five obviously drunk guys came out of an alleyway and said, "Give us your money!"

"You seriously think we'll just hand you money?" Kisshu asked. "Besides, we don't have any."

The guy who had spoken said, "Well, the girls will do nicely instead."

Kisshu snarled. "I won't let you touch them," he said in a dangerous voice.

One of the guys smirked and then said, "You can't fight all of us." The others took their cue, and launched themselves at Kisshu.

Kisshu punched one guy in the face, as Ichigo ran up and kicked another in the stomach. Suddenly Moe and Miwa both cried out, and Ichigo and Kisshu spun. Two guys were holding them. "Kisshu, I think it's time we turned it up a notch- no matter what it takes," Ichigo said.

Kisshu caught the meaning, and crossed his wrists. His Dragon Swords appeared in his hands, and he handed them to Ichigo. Then he teleported behind the two men holding Moe and Miwa, and knocked both of them out with two swift blows.

Ichigo, meanwhile, had taken Kisshu's Dragon Swords and started fighting. The men she was fighting all had either knives or clubs, and she steadily disarmed every one of them. Once the men saw they were losing, they grabbed their injured comrades from the ground where Kisshu had thrown them, and hightailed it out of there.

Ichigo walked back to Kisshu and handed him his swords. He made them disappear, and the two of them turned to Moe and Miwa.

Both girls appeared speechless. Ichigo asked, "Are you alright?"

"I think so, but what just happened?" Moe asked. "Kisshu disappeared, and you were fighting with swords!"

"I guess it's about time we told you," Kisshu said. "But this particular subject should really be discussed at Ichigo's house, not out in the open."

"But we're nowhere near Ichigo's house," Moe said.

"I know a faster way," Ichigo said. She looked at Kisshu, who nodded, then said, "Okay." Ichigo grabbed his shoulder, and he grabbed Miwa and Moe's shoulders, then teleported to Ichigo's room.

They landed, and Ichigo said, "I guess you'd like an explanation, right?"

"It would be nice," Moe said.

Ichigo sighed. "Okay, I guess I should have told you this sooner, but I didn't really have a choice till recently. I'm Mew Ichigo, and Kisshu is actually one of the aliens from the news."

"But- I thought the Mews and aliens were fighting!" Miwa said.

"We were, but Ichigo and I came up with a truce, and set up peace talks, which ultimately stopped the fighting," Kisshu said.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Moe asked. "We can keep secrets."

"I know, but at first I was ordered by Ryou not to tell anyone, at all," Ichigo said. "And after Ryou was dead, I wasn't sure how you'd react, so I didn't tell you. I'm sorry."

"When did you learn to use swords?" Moe asked.

"Kisshu taught me while I was out of school," Ichigo said. "Are you mad at me?"

"Not at all," Miwa said. "We're your friends, we understand you had your reasons. And I think it's way cool that you both have powers!"

"So do I," Moe said. "Thanks for telling us, we'll definitely keep your secret. Does anyone else know?"

"My parents, of course, and the principal," Ichigo said. "Aoyama knew, but he was a real jerk after I told him. That's why I was going to break up with him."

"Wow," Miwa said. "Kisshu, why don't you have the same ears as the other aliens?"

"I do, but my brother invented a pill that changes my ears for about ten hours," Kisshu said. "I take one before school every day, otherwise I'd be in real trouble."

"Good point," Miwa said. "Why don't your brothers live here too, Kisshu?"

"Keiichiro took them in, but he only had two extra rooms, so since Ichigo and I were together already, she and her parents took me in," Kisshu said.

"Wow, her dad actually agreed to that?" Miwa asked.

"It took my mom a while to knock some sense into him, but he agreed to it after a while and one big fight," Ichigo said. "Luckily for me, my mom absolutely loves having Kisshu around, so my dad doesn't complain anymore. He's gotten used to Kisshu too, though."

"I'm glad," Miwa said. "At least your dad didn't challenge Kisshu to a kendo match, right?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said.

They sat in silence for a minute, but then Sakura came in and said, "I thought I heard voices, how long have you been here?"

"About fifteen minutes," Ichigo said. "We got attacked by drunk guys, defeated them, and then Kisshu teleported us all here."

"So now your friends know too?" Sakura said. "I got a call from the principal, he said he knows."

"Yeah, I called Keiichiro in today, and he told the principal the story," Ichigo said. "I figured it was time Miwa and Moe knew, and they said they'll keep it our little secret."

"Good," Sakura said. She looked at Miwa and Moe and said, "I'm glad you understand it's important to keep this secret. Ichigo and Kisshu will be in a lot of danger if it gets out."

"We understand, Mrs. Momomiya," Miwa said. "And we'll always be there for them both."

Sakura smiled and said, "Good. I made more pound cake, does anyone want some?"

"Sure!" the four chorused. They all followed Sakura downstairs.

**More ideas are needed before I continue, so plz review or PM me.**


	32. Yuka

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 32:**

**Yuka**

Moe and Miwa had left, and Kisshu and Ichigo were in Ichigo's room. Suddenly Ichigo's cell phone rang, and she picked up. "Moshi moshi?" she said.

"_Ichigo, come to the Café, we've got a problem!" _Keiichiro said.

"On my way," Ichigo said, and hung up. She turned to Kisshu and said, "We have to go to the Café, let's go tell my parents."

"Okay," Kisshu said.

They went downstairs, and Ichigo told Sakura, "Mom, we're needed at the Café, so we'll be back later."

"Okay," Sakura said. "Ja ne!"

Ichigo nodded, then Kisshu took her hand and teleported. They landed in the basement, and Ichigo saw Keiichiro and the other Mews and Cyniclons there as well. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Pai replied, "The computers detected the presence of another Cyniclon, but for some reason we haven't sensed a ship. I think we should all go check it out."

"Okay," Ichigo said. "But I thought there wouldn't be any more attacks."

"Well, I suppose we'll find out. Let's go," Pai said. "All of you Mews, grab one of us."

The Mews obeyed, and Pai, Kisshu and Taruto teleported to the location the computers had indicated.

They landed in a small, deserted park, and started looking around. Suddenly Lettuce called out, "Over here!"

The others ran to her, and saw what she was looking at. A small girl, a little younger than Pudding, was unconscious on the ground. It was obvious that she was a Cyniclon; she had the same ears and pale skin as Kisshu, Pai and Taruto. She also had green hair, like Kisshu.

Noticing Kisshu, Pai and Taruto looked shocked, Lettuce asked, "Do you know her?"

"She's Kisshu's little sister, Yuka," Pai said. "I have no clue how she got here, though."

Ichigo knelt next to Yuka and placed a hand on her chest, then closed her eyes. Finally she said, "Yuka seems to be very weak, but I don't know why."

Taruto's eyes widened. "What if she tried to teleport here from our planet?" he said. "It would explain why there's no ship, and why she's so weak. We have to do something if that's the case."

Ichigo nodded, and said, "Lettuce, combine your powers with mine, we're going to heal her."

Lettuce immediately came over, and knelt next to Yuka. She placed her hand on Yuka's chest, and then clasped hands with Ichigo, who also had a hand on Yuka's chest. Both Lettuce and Ichigo began to glow. Lettuce's green glow and Ichigo's pink glow started to braid themselves together. The braid centered over Yuka's heart, then disappeared into her body. Ichigo and Lettuce's glows both flashed, and faded.

"I think that should do it," Ichigo said. "She probably could use a bit more rest, though."

"Thanks, Koneko-chan, Lettuce," Kisshu said. "Should we take her back to the Café?"

"Good plan, we need to tell Keiichiro this anyways," Pai said. "All of you, grab one of us."

The Mews obeyed, Ichigo and Mint grabbing Kisshu's shoulders, since he was carrying Yuka. They teleported, and landed in the basement. Keiichiro looked up, and said, "What happened?"

"Apparently my little sister decided to run away from home," Kisshu said, nodding to the girl in his arms.

Keiichiro looked shocked. "Um… is she okay?" he asked finally.

"I think she'll be fine when she wakes up," Ichigo said. "Lettuce and I did our best with our healing powers."

"Kisshu, I didn't know you had a little sister," Keiichiro said.

"After my parents died, I was entrusted with her care," Kisshu said. "Pai and Taruto's family took us in, but then the three of us were sent to Earth. I tried to keep it quiet about having a little sister, since I didn't want anything to happen to her."

"What are we going to do now, though?" Pai asked.

"Talk to my parents about this?" Ichigo suggested.

"Call them," Keiichiro said.

Ichigo scrolled through her contacts, and found the home number, then pressed Send. When Sakura picked up, Ichigo said, "Mom, get Dad and come to Café Mew Mew now. It's urgent." She got a response, then hung up. "They're on their way," she said.

Fifteen minutes later, Sakura and Shintaro ran into the basement. "What's wrong?" Shintaro asked, worried.

"My little sister ran away from home," Kisshu said.

Shintaro sighed, and looked at Sakura. "We're adopting another one, aren't we?" he asked.

"If that's what she wants, than yes," Sakura said. "Kisshu, does that sound okay?"

"Yes, but where will she sleep?" Kisshu asked.

"We'll rearrange either your room or Ichigo's, and put in a second bed," Sakura said. "Don't worry about it."

"Thanks, Sakura," Kisshu said.

Suddenly they all noticed Yuka was stirring. She slowly opened her eyes, which were golden like Kisshu's. "Yuka?" Kisshu asked softly.

"Oniichan!" Yuka said happily, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I missed you."

Kisshu hugged her back and said, "I missed you too. Did you really teleport to Earth, though?"

"Yes," Yuka said. "I snuck out and then teleported to Earth. Am I in trouble?"

"No," Kisshu said. "How have you been lately?"

"Sad," Yuka said. "Everyone's saying mean things about you and Pai and Taruto. I got sick of them, so I decided to come here, where you were. I've been working really hard on teleporting. I'm glad I made it."

"Let's just hope you don't have to do that again," Kisshu said. "You were in pretty bad shape when we found you."

"I feel fine now," Yuka said. "Who's 'we'?"

"Pai, Taruto, and the Mews," Kisshu said.

"Mews?" Yuka asked. "Aren't they the ones you were fighting?"

"We formed a truce," Kisshu said. "And they took all of us in."

"So they're not bad guys?" Yuka asked.

"No," Kisshu said. "Deep Blue was the bad guy."

"Oh…" Yuka said. "Where's Pai and Taruto?"

"Behind you," Kisshu said.

Yuka turned, and looked startled to see all the people in the basement. Kisshu set her down. She looked around, and spotted Pai and Taruto. Then she floated up, and surprisingly, flew directly for Pai- and tackled him. Pai fell to the ground with Yuka clinging to him, giggling. He tried unsuccessfully to get her off, and finally yelled, "KISSHU! Get your maniac sister off of me!"

"Why?" Kisshu asked, snickering. "She hasn't seen you in months. You could be a little nicer."

Pai groaned. Suddenly it looked like he had an idea. "Lettuce-chan, can you get her off?" he asked.

"I'll try," Lettuce said. She walked over to Pai and Yuka, and gently said, "Yuka, could you get off of Pai-san?"

"NO! I'm having fun!" Yuka said, and began tickling Pai.

Lettuce sighed and picked Yuka up. "Yuka, I think Pai-san's had enough," Lettuce said firmly.

"Awww…" Yuka said. Then she said, "Are you Pai's girlfriend?"

"Yes, actually," Lettuce said, putting Yuka down.

"YAY!" Yuka said. "Pai finally has a girlfriend! I guess I can stop nagging him now, and start teasing him instead."

"Do you have to do either?" Pai asked. "Didn't we teach you better?"

"Oniichan said it was fine," Yuka said.

"He would," Pai muttered, glaring at Kisshu.

Yuka stuck her tongue out and went back to Kisshu. "Oniichan, who are all these others?" she asked.

"This is Ichigo, my girlfriend," Kisshu said, pointing to Ichigo. Then he proceed to introduce everyone else, pointing them out.

"It's nice to meet everyone," Yuka said when Kisshu was done.

"It's nice to meet you too, Yuka," Ichigo said.

Yuka smiled and turned back to Kisshu. "Where do you live?" she asked.

"With Ichigo's family," Kisshu said. "And they've said they're willing to take you in as well."

"YAY! I get a big sister?" Yuka said happily.

"Yep," Ichigo said with a smile.

**I can't believe I didn't come up with this sooner….**


	33. Mischief

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 33:**

**Mischief**

Kisshu, Ichigo and Ichigo's parents took Yuka back to their house. Pai also gave them another bottle of the pills that would change their ears.

"I guess I'll have to go clothes shopping again," Sakura said. "Yuka, do you want to help?"

"I want to stay with Oniichan," Yuka said. "I haven't seen him in months."

Sakura smiled. "Okay, I'll get going," she said. "You all have fun!"

After she left, Ichigo said, "Yuka, do you want to see the rest of the house?"

"Can I?" Yuka asked.

"Of course, you're going to be living here," Ichigo said. She led the way upstairs, and showed Yuka around.

When they were done, Yuka said, "I like your room best, Ichigo-oneechan!"

"Thanks, Yuka," Ichigo said. "Do you want to sleep in there?"

"YAY!" Yuka said.

"I'll take that as a yes," Ichigo said with a smile. "I guess we'll put the second bed in my room."

"We might as well go tell your dad," Kisshu said. "He's the one who's going bed shopping."

Ichigo nodded, and they went downstairs. Shintaro was reading in the living room, and Ichigo said, "Dad, Yuka wants to sleep in my room."

"Okay," Shintaro said. "I'll get your mom to rearrange in there, and then we can figure out what kind of bed to get."

Sakura came in a while later, and said, "I got a bunch of clothes, so Yuka, I need you to try them on to see what fits you."

"Okay, thank you," Yuka said. She followed Sakura upstairs.

A little while later, they came back. Yuka was wearing a t-shirt with a pair of jeans that had flowers stitched on them, and pink and silver sneakers.

"All the clothes are fine," Sakura said.

"Good, thanks," Kisshu said. "Yuka, you look really cute in that."

"Thanks Oniichan!" Yuka said. "And thanks, Aunt Sakura. I love my new clothes!"

"You're welcome," Sakura said. "Yuka, how old are you?"

"I'm five," Yuka said proudly.

"If you're thinking about school, is it okay for Yuka to get used to Earth before sending her out?" Kisshu asked. "I'm worried about her and humans."

"The school year's almost over anyways," Ichigo said. "Maybe it's better to sign her up next year."

"Okay," Sakura said. "You're probably right, it doesn't make sense to sign her up this late in the year."

"Are you going to be going to school, Oniichan?" Yuka asked.

"Yeah, I go to Ichigo's school," Kisshu said. "You'll be staying here with Sakura, okay?"

"Can't I go too?" Yuka asked.

"No, this is a school for bigger kids," Kisshu said. "I think you'd find it very boring."

"Fine…." Yuka said.

"I'm going to go make dinner," Sakura said. "What do you guys want?"

"Mizutaki?" Ichigo said.

"Okay, I think I have the ingredients for that," Sakura said. "I'll go start."

"What's mizutaki?" Yuka asked.

"It's a type of hot pot with chicken and a bunch of other things like tofu and vegetables. It's really good," Ichigo said.

"Okay!" Yuka said.

They all ate together that night, and then watched TV for a while. Yuka went to bed first, still tired out from teleporting. Ichigo and Kisshu were sleeping together, much to Shintaro's chagrin, since Yuka was currently sleeping in Ichigo's room.

The next morning, Ichigo and Kisshu woke up and got ready for school. Yuka got up too, and Kisshu said, "Stay here and be good, okay? We'll be back later. And if you go anywhere with Sakura, remember to take one of the pills Pai gave you."

"Okay," Yuka said.

Kisshu ruffled her hair, and then he and Ichigo left. They met up with Moe and Miwa at the school gates, and went in for their first class.

Halfway through their third period, the intercom came on and said, _"Ikisatashi Kisshu and Momomiya Ichigo, please come to the office."_

The teacher sighed, and said, "Well, go on."

Ichigo and Kisshu bowed, grabbed their stuff and left. When they got to the office, they found the principal waiting for them. As soon as he saw them, he said, "Kisshu, would you care to explain this?" He moved aside, and they saw Yuka standing behind him.

"YUKA!?" Ichigo and Kisshu shouted.

"Hi!" Yuka said cheerfully.

"I take it you two know her?" the principal asked. "She was extremely insistent on seeing you. How she got here is a little unclear, though."

Kisshu sighed and said, "This is my little sister, Yuka. And knowing her, she probably teleported here." He glared at Yuka.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" Yuka asked.

"Yes, you are," Kisshu said sternly. "I told you to stay home and be good. Besides, wasn't Sakura there? You've probably got her worried sick."

Yuka sighed. "I just wanted to see you…" she said.

The principal interrupted, saying, "Kisshu, you act more like a father than a brother to Yuka."

"Our parents died right after Yuka turned two," Kisshu said. "I was entrusted with her care after that, so I guess I do."

"I see," the principal said. "I suppose you'd better call Mrs. Momomiya. We should let her know what happened."

"I can do that," Ichigo said, and took out her cell phone. She typed in the home number, and Sakura picked up after one ring. _"Ichigo, do you know what happened to Yuka? I looked everywhere!" _Sakura said frantically.

"Yuka apparently teleported to our school," Ichigo said. "She's fine, but will you come get her?"

"_I'm on my way," _Sakura said, and hung up.

Ichigo sighed and said, "Mom's on her way. Can we wait outside with Yuka?"

"Fine…" the principal sighed. "But then you have to go back to class."

"Understood," Kisshu said. He took Yuka's hand, and followed by Ichigo, led her outside. They waited at the school gate, and soon after, Sakura pulled up.

"Yuka, please don't do that again," Sakura said. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry," Yuka said. "I won't do it again."

"Good," Sakura said. She turned to Kisshu and Ichigo and said, "I'll take Yuka home, and keep a closer eye on her. You two should get back to class."

"Okay, thanks," Kisshu said. He and Ichigo went back into the school as Sakura and Yuka drove away.

**I'll continue soon, but I'm too tired tonight to do more. Review!**


	34. Uh-Oh

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 34:**

**Uh-Oh…**

Kisshu and Ichigo went back to class, and noticed a lot of girls looking starry-eyed. Unfortunately, the teacher didn't notice, and the next period was recess. When the bell rang, Ichigo, Kisshu, Moe and Miwa went to their usual deserted classroom to eat.

"So who was that?" Moe asked Kisshu. "The little girl you and Ichigo were with?"

"Let me guess, everyone was looking out the window," Kisshu sighed. "And that's why the girls in class looked starry-eyed."

"Yeah, pretty much," Miwa said.

Kisshu sighed again and said, "That was my little sister, Yuka."

"I didn't know you had a little sister," Miwa said. "Why haven't we seen her before?"

"She just teleported to Earth this past weekend," Kisshu said. "And Ichigo's parents adopted her, so she'll be living with us now."

"Why did she teleport to Earth?" Moe asked. "Couldn't she have taken a ship or something?"

"Not since we got exiled," Kisshu said. "And she wanted to see me, so she snuck out and teleported to Earth- which ended up nearly killing her. Luckily Ichigo and Lettuce were able to heal her."

"Wow…" Miwa said. "She must really love you. My little brother would never do that. He hates the sight of me."

"I'm all Yuka has, so I'm sure that's why she's so attached to me," Kisshu said. "Our parents died shortly after Yuka turned two."

"I'm so sorry!" Miwa said.

Kisshu sighed. "Pai and Taruto's parents took us in, but I guess Yuka didn't want to live with them if I wasn't there," he said. "She told us that people on our planet don't think very much of us anymore."

"That's too bad," Moe said. "At least Yuka got away."

"She is in sooo much trouble," Kisshu said. "She teleported here without telling Sakura, and that's AFTER I told her to stay home and be good."

Moe, Miwa and Ichigo giggled. Kisshu blinked. "What?"

"You sound like her dad or something," Miwa said.

"That's what the principal said," Kisshu said. "I just try to help her learn what's okay and what's not, since she doesn't have a real mother or father to teach her."

"Well, now she's got my parents," Ichigo said.

"Yeah…" Kisshu said.

The bell rang soon after, and they went to their next class. A few more classes later, it was the end of the day, and Ichigo, Kisshu, Moe and Miwa went back to Ichigo's house. As soon as they walked in, Kisshu was tackled by Yuka, who said happily, "Yay! You're back!"

Kisshu stood up, Yuka in his arms, and said, "Yes, I'm back. What happened this morning?"

"I started missing you," Yuka said.

Kisshu sighed. "How did you survive on our planet without me?"

"It was hard, that's why I teleported here," Yuka said.

"You're not going to teleport to my school anymore, right?" Kisshu asked.

"No," Yuka said sadly. "Aunt Sakura wasn't very happy with me. And you weren't either."

"I don't want you to get in trouble," Kisshu said. "And Sakura was unhappy because you scared her."

Yuka sighed, then looked over at Moe and Miwa. "Who are you?" she asked curiously.

"I'm Moe, and that's Miwa," Moe said. "We're friends of Ichigo's and Kisshu's."

"Hi!" Yuka said. "I'm Yuka."

"It's nice to meet you," Miwa said.

"Would you like to come in?" Ichigo asked Moe and Miwa.

"No, we have to get home," Miwa said. "We just wanted to meet Yuka. Kisshu, I've got some wood for you, so I'll bring it tomorrow."

"Thanks," Kisshu said. "See you then." Moe and Miwa waved and left. Kisshu sighed and went inside, followed by Ichigo. Ichigo closed the door as Kisshu set Yuka down. Sakura came up to them and said, "How was school?"

"Fine," Ichigo said. "I think at least five girls got detention today for staring at Kisshu. Apparently they all saw us walk Yuka out."

"Well, maybe they'll learn better," Sakura said. "It wasn't too distracting, was it?"

"Not too bad," Kisshu said. "I still hate it."

"Why would people stare at you?" Yuka asked.

"The girls at our school all think Kisshu's hot," Ichigo explained. "So they spend a lot of time staring at him- or they did until the teachers started cracking down on them."

"Oh…" Yuka said. "Do you think Oniichan's hot?"

Ichigo turned bright red and said reluctantly, "Yes…"

Kisshu seemed a bit startled, but smirked and said, "I can't believe you finally admitted it."

"Don't get big-headed over it," Ichigo warned him.

"Oh, don't worry," Kisshu said. "Don't you know me better than that?"

"No, you have a tendency to get kind of smug whenever I say stuff like 'you're hot'," Ichigo said.

"I'll work on that," Kisshu said. "I'm hungry, is there anything to eat?"

"I just made popovers," Sakura said.

"Popovers?" Kisshu asked, puzzled.

"They're kind of like muffins, but much lighter in texture," Sakura said. "Come try one, you'll see."

They all went into the kitchen and Sakura handed out popovers. Kisshu took a bite, and said, "This is really good."

Sakura smiled and said, "I'm glad you like them. Yuka, do you like yours?"

"Yeah!" Yuka said enthusiastically.

"Good," Sakura said. "There's more, so help yourselves. We don't have to save any for Shintaro, he doesn't like them."

"Yay!" Yuka said, and took another one.

"Yuka, do you want to come grocery shopping with me?" Sakura asked.

"Okay," Yuka said. "Do I need another of those pills?"

"I think you'll be fine," Sakura said. "Finish up your popover, and we'll go."

Yuka ate the rest of her popover, and went to get her shoes. She and Sakura left, and Ichigo and Kisshu went up to his room. Before they could do anything, though, Ichigo's cell phone rang. It was Keiichiro, so Ichigo picked up and said, "Keiichiro, is something wrong?"

"_Pai is really sick, and we can't figure out why," _Keiichiro said. _"I called Lettuce, but can you come too?"_

"Sure, we'll be right there," Ichigo said, and hung up. She turned to Kisshu, and said, "Keiichiro says Pai's sick, and he needs me and Lettuce there. I'm going to write a note for my mom, can you teleport there afterwards?"

"Sure," Kisshu said. "That doesn't sound good; Pai never gets sick."

"I hope it's nothing too serious," Ichigo said, as she wrote a note and left it on the kitchen counter. She and Kisshu got their shoes, and Kisshu teleported them to Café Mew Mew. They landed in the main room, and Keiichiro met them.

"Lettuce should be here soon," he said. He looked really worried.

Lettuce came running in a few minutes later. "Gomensai for being late," she said. "Where's Pai?"

"In his room, come upstairs," Keiichiro said. The girls and Kisshu followed him upstairs and into Pai's room.

They were worried by what they saw. Pai was lying in his bed, and Taruto was sitting next to him. It was pretty obvious that Pai had a fever; his cheeks were flushed. His breathing was harsh, and his eyes were closed. Taruto looked up at them, and they saw he was scared. "Can you do something?" he asked Ichigo and Lettuce. "Pai's really sick."

"We'll try," Lettuce said. She walked to the bed, and Taruto moved back. Lettuce put one hand on Pai's chest, and closed her eyes. Her expression changed from worried to puzzled. "I can't feel what's wrong," she said. "Ichigo-san, can you help?"

"Hai," Ichigo said. She came over and took Lettuce's hand, then put her other hand on Pai's chest. Five minutes of trying later, both girls looked puzzled and worried. "We can't figure out what's wrong," Ichigo said. "And that's a problem."

"Why's that?" Taruto asked, scared.

"If we don't know the problem, we can't fix it," Lettuce said grimly.

"But we're only familiar with human diseases," Ichigo reminded her. "If this is a Cyniclon illness, it could explain why we don't know what to do."

"Let me see," Kisshu said. "I can't heal, but I know how to sense a problem."

Lettuce and Ichigo moved back, and watched as Kisshu put a hand on Pai's chest and closed his eyes. Suddenly his eyes shot open. "What's wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"You were right, he has a Cyniclon illness," Kisshu said. "But this one has no known cure."

Lettuce looked scared, but Ichigo said, "Well, we're just going to have to find one, then. Tell us more about this illness, and we'll figure something out."

Kisshu nodded, and said, "The main symptoms of Toru Fever, the disease, are a fever, loss of appetite and energy, and a bad cough. It's been known to kill Cyniclons because the cough makes it very hard to breathe, and this particular type of fever goes up very fast. And so far, my people haven't come up with a cure."

Lettuce suddenly looked like she had an idea. "What's up, Lettuce?" Ichigo asked.

"That sounds like a human disease called tuberculosis," Lettuce said. "Ichigo-san, what if we tried thinking of that disease, and then used our powers on Pai?"

"It's worth a shot," Ichigo said. "Are we combining our powers?"

"Hai," Lettuce said.

Ichigo nodded and took Lettuce's hand, then both girls put their right hands on Pai's chest. They closed their eyes, and Lettuce began to glow green, while Ichigo began to glow pink. The glows flowed into Pai's body, and left Ichigo and Lettuce's bodies, completely covering Pai. The girls remained in position until the glow had completely faded. Then they opened their eyes. Pai was waking up.

**Is Pai better? Review and find out. I give total credit to OkamiAmaterasuLuver for the idea of Pai getting sick. Thanks!**


	35. Uh-Oh Part 2

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 35:**

**Uh-Oh… Part 2**

Ichigo and Lettuce opened their eyes and looked at Pai, who was waking up. He opened his eyes, and looked surprised to see Lettuce and Ichigo standing there. "Pai, how are you feeling?" Lettuce asked.

"I think I'm fine," Pai said, sitting up. "What happened? I felt awful earlier." He looked at Kisshu and Taruto, then asked, "And why are those two looking so shocked?"

"We originally couldn't figure out what was wrong with you," Lettuce said. "But Ichigo suggested you might have a Cyniclon illness, and Kisshu checked, and said you had something called Toru Fever. He told us the symptoms, and I realized it sounded like a human disease called tuberculosis. So Ichigo-san and I combined our powers and focused on tuberculosis rather than trying to figure out what it would take to cure Toru Fever, and it seems to have worked."

Now Pai looked shocked too. "Y-you two are amazing," he said. "Did Kisshu tell you that there's no known cure for Toru Fever?"

"Yeah, but I figured that there had to be something we could do," Ichigo said. "I wasn't just going to give up and let you die."

"Thanks, Ichigo, Lettuce-chan," Pai said. He looked over at Kisshu and Taruto, and said, "You two look like you're going to start attracting flies."

Kisshu snapped out of shock and closed his mouth. Taruto seemed not to hear, so Kisshu whacked him over the head. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" Taruto screamed.

"So you'd close your mouth," Kisshu answered. "You were attracting flies."

Taruto growled and launched himself at Kisshu, who dodged neatly, causing Taruto to slam into the wall headfirst. "Owww…" Taruto moaned.

"You had that coming," Kisshu said. "Didn't you notice I was basically standing against the wall?"

"Uh…" Taruto said.

Kisshu facepalmed, and said, "Boy, you're stupid."

"I AM NOT!" Taruto shouted. "And even if I was, you'd be ten times worse."

"I'm reckless, not stupid," Kisshu said.

"What's the difference?" Taruto asked.

"Reckless means I'm just not cautious, it doesn't mean I'm stupid," Kisshu said. "Stupid would mean that I'm not intelligent. As far as I know, stupid is not a synonym of reckless."

"Synonym?" Taruto asked.

"You don't know what that means?" Kisshu asked with a smirk.

"Of course I do!" Taruto said. "It means…. um….. something to do with disease?"

"That's 'symptom'," Pai said. "Honestly, you should pay more attention in these conversations. The context alone should have told you that Kisshu was not speaking about diseases."

"A synonym is a word that has the same meaning as another word," Kisshu said. "Idiot."

"I bet YOU don't know the meaning of the word I've got in mind," Taruto said.

"What is it?" Kisshu asked.

"Xylophone," Taruto said.

"HA! That's a musical instrument!" Kisshu shouted. "You seriously believe I'm that stupid?"

"How about quintessential?" Taruto asked.

"Perfect," Kisshu said. "Seriously, you're just making a fool of yourself. You should stop, before I tell Pudding her boyfriend's an idiot."

"AAARRGH! Don't you dare _talk _to Pudding!" Taruto screamed.

"Are you the jealous type or something?" Kisshu asked. "I'm not interested in her; I love Ichigo. I just thought it would be funny to see her reaction to hearing that you're an idiot."

"She wouldn't believe you," Taruto said.

"Whatever," Kisshu said.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but something's worrying me," Keiichiro said.

"What is it?" Ichigo asked.

"Why would Pai contract a Cyniclon illness here?" Keiichiro asked. "I could understand it if we were on Cyniclonia, but here, there shouldn't be that kind of problem."

Pai started to look worried too. "What if it happens to others?" he asked.

"I'm not so sure it's unnatural," Lettuce said unexpectedly. "What if it has something to do with the smoke you breathed in a while back?"

"That's a possibility," Pai said. "If that smoke was more than just sleeping gas, it's possible that's what made me sick. Sometimes it takes a while before that particular illness is noticeable."

"Does that mean that I'll get sick as well?" Kisshu asked. "I breathed it in too, remember?"

"Pai breathed in more, so maybe, maybe not," Keiichiro said. "But Ichigo and Lettuce figured out how to cure that sickness, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"Okay," Kisshu said. "Ichigo, should we get back?"

"Hai, good idea," Ichigo said. Kisshu took her hand and teleported back to the house.

They landed in the living room, and saw Shintaro reading the paper. He looked up and said, "Where were you?"

"Didn't Mom get the note I left her?" Ichigo asked. "I left a note on the kitchen counter."

"I don't think so," Shintaro said. "You should go find her. I think she's in the kitchen."

Ichigo and Kisshu went into the kitchen, but Sakura wasn't there. "Maybe she's upstairs," Ichigo said, and went up to her room, followed by Kisshu.

Sakura was in there with Yuka, playing some game. She looked up, and said, "Hi, is Pai okay?"

"So you got my note?" Ichigo asked. "Dad seems to think you didn't."

"Oh, I guess I forgot to tell him, I was busy playing games with Yuka," Sakura said. "So how's Pai?"

"He's fine, Lettuce and I healed him," Ichigo said. "He had something similar to tuberculosis, but he's fine now. We're a bit worried that Kisshu might get it too; Lettuce thinks Pai got the illness by breathing in all that smoke a few weeks ago."

Sakura looked worried. "That sounds pretty serious," she said. "Kisshu, how have you been feeling lately?"

"Fine," Kisshu said. "Keiichiro said he's not positive I'll get sick, since I didn't breathe in as much smoke as Pai did."

"Well, just let us know if you're not feeling well," Sakura said.

"I will," Kisshu said. "What's for dinner tonight?"

"Pesto pasta," Sakura said with a smile. "I'm going to go start it; will you keep Yuka company?"

"Of course," Kisshu said. He and Ichigo sat down to play with Yuka as Sakura got up and left to make the pasta.

They all ate together that night, and Kisshu and Ichigo finished up their homework. Then they both went to bed.

_**The next morning: **_Ichigo was woken up suddenly by banging on the door. "What's wrong?" she asked, getting up to open the door. Sakura was standing outside, and she said, "I went to wake Kisshu up, but it looks like he's sick. I'm worried he has that illness you mentioned, I think you should take a look."

"On my way," Ichigo said. She didn't bother getting dressed, she simply smoothed her hair a bit and ran to Kisshu's room. She went in, and saw that Kisshu was in pretty much the same condition Pai had been in yesterday. She went over to him, and put her right hand on his chest, then closed her eyes. As usual, she began to glow pink, and the pink glow flowed into Kisshu. Like yesterday, she focused on healing tuberculosis, not Toru Fever. She finally felt the last traces of sickness leave Kisshu's body, and opened her eyes. Kisshu was starting to wake up.

He looked up at her, and said, "I got the sickness, right?"

"Yeah, how are you feeling now?" Ichigo asked.

"I think I'm okay," Kisshu said. "Thanks, Koneko-chan." He sat up. Suddenly he looked puzzled.

"Is something wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"I feel sick, but I don't know why," Kisshu said.

"If you feel sick, I think you should go to the bathroom," Ichigo said. "You probably don't want to throw up on the floor."

Kisshu got up and went down the hall to the bathroom. Ichigo went back to her room, and saw that Sakura was in there with Yuka. "How's Kisshu?" Sakura asked.

"Well, I healed the fever illness, but then he said he felt sick," Ichigo said. "I told him to go to the bathroom, and came back here."

"I heard there's some kind of stomach bug going around, it's possible he caught it," Sakura said.

Ichigo was about to reply, but then heard Kisshu throw up. "Sounds like it," she said. "That's not fun."

"I guess I'll call the school," Sakura said. "He shouldn't go in if he's sick."

"Yeah," Ichigo said. "Should I get a bucket so he doesn't have to run to the bathroom everytime he feels sick?"

"Good idea," Sakura said. "Then you should get ready for school, I'll take care of Kisshu."

"Are you sure I can't stay with him?" Ichigo asked.

"I think you should go to school," Sakura said. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of Kisshu."

Ichigo sighed, but went to the hall closet and got a bucket, then put it next to Kisshu's bed as her mother went downstairs to call the school. As she started to go back to her room, she saw Kisshu come out of the bathroom. "I feel awful," he said when he saw her.

"I can tell," Ichigo said. "I put a bucket next to your bed, so you won't have to keep running to the bathroom."

"Thanks," Kisshu said. Suddenly he clutched his stomach and went back to the bathroom. Ichigo noticed he left the door open, and went in as he started throwing up again. She knelt next to him and started rubbing his back, trying to help him feel better. Finally he stopped and asked, "Do you have to go to school today?"

"Mom said yes," Ichigo said. "I guess I have no choice. She said she'll take care of you, though."

Kisshu sighed. Ichigo smoothed his hair back and said, "Come on, let's get you back to your room." She helped him up and walked back with him. Just as he was about to lie down, he clapped a hand over his mouth. Ichigo grabbed the bucket and handed it to him just in time.

While he was throwing up, Sakura came in and said, "It sound like half the school has this stomach bug. I told the principal that Kisshu was sick, and he said that I really shouldn't send either of you in."

"That's fine, I'd rather stay with Kisshu anyways," Ichigo said.

"Alright, let me know if either of you need anything," Sakura said.

Ichigo nodded and sat down next to Kisshu as he stopped throwing up. "Is there anything you can do about this?" he asked. "I feel really sick."

"Unfortunately, I used up my power on the Toru Fever thing you had this morning," Ichigo said reluctantly. "I'll be back to full strength tomorrow, though."

"Okay…." Kisshu said. Then he swallowed hard. "Uggh… I feel si-" he broke off as he threw up again. Luckily he still had the bucket on his lap. Ichigo rubbed his back till he stopped, and said, "You should go back to sleep, it'll help you heal faster."

Kisshu put the bucket on the far side of the bed, and laid back. He slowly fell asleep, and Ichigo picked up a book.

She continued to read for most of the day, and only stopped for lunch, which she ate far away from Kisshu, so he wouldn't get sick from the smell. She went back upstairs after, and went back to reading. Kisshu woke up a few times, mainly from feeling sick again. He woke up for real that night, and said, "Are you feeling okay, Koneko-chan?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ichigo said. "I don't usually get sick."

_**However, the next morning….**_ Ichigo woke up suddenly and ran to the bathroom, just before she threw up. Luckily she made it to the toilet. _I guess I jinxed myself last night, _she thought. _Now I feel awful too. And that means I can't heal Kisshu. Great…._

Sakura knocked on the door, and said, "Did you get sick too?"

"Yeah, I caught the stomach bug," Ichigo said gloomily.

"I think I'll have you ask Kisshu if you can sleep in there; I don't want Yuka to get sick," Sakura said.

"Okay…" Ichigo said- right before she threw up again. When she finished, she went and got a bucket, then went to Kisshu's room. He was awake and throwing up again. When he finished, he looked up and said, "Hey, what's up?"

"I caught the stomach bug," Ichigo said gloomily. "Mom says she wants me to sleep in here so Yuka doesn't get sick, is that okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Kisshu said. He moved over on the bed, but suddenly said, "The bucket you gave me is pretty full, I'm going to empty it."

"Okay, I brought one in too," Ichigo said, grabbing it as she felt sick again. Kisshu teleported out to empty his bucket. He came in through the door a minute or two later, and said, "That's done. How's your dad going feel about this?"

"As long as it keeps him from getting sick, I'm pretty sure he won't care too much," Ichigo said.

"Good…" Kisshu trailed off as he grabbed his bucket and threw up. When he was finished, he and Ichigo got into bed together. They put the buckets on opposite sides of the bed, and started to fall asleep.

**Why do you think so many people have the stomach bug? I have a reason, which will be revealed if two people try to guess the reason. And NO, this has nothing to do with my usual fluff excuse.**


	36. Sick

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 36:**

**Sick**

A few hours later, Ichigo woke up and dragged her bucket closer just in time for her to get sick. Kisshu woke up and started rubbing her back. When she was finished, she lay back and said, "Thanks, Kisshu."

"Sure," Kisshu said. "It's my fault you're sick, isn't it?"

"No, Mom said about half the school has it," Ichigo said. "It was just a matter of time. I wonder if the other Mews are sick?"

"You could call," Kisshu suggested. He turned over and threw up after saying that, and Ichigo rubbed his back until he was done. When he turned back, she said, "I think I'll call them, but I'm going to see if Pai and Taruto are okay first."

She got her cell phone off the bedside table, and dialed Pai's number. "Yeah?" Pai answered.

"How are you?" Ichigo asked. "Kisshu and I got the stomach bug that's going around."

"Yeah, so did Taruto and I," Pai said. "Keiichiro's still fine. I'll talk later, I'm about to be sick again." He hung up.

"Pai and Taruto both have it," Ichigo said. "I'll-" she turned over and grabbed the bucket just in time, threw up, then continued, "I'll call the Mews. I hope this isn't something caused by an invasion."

"I didn't even think of that," Kisshu said. He grabbed his bucket and threw up as Ichigo dialed Lettuce's number. When she picked up, she asked, "Ichigo, are you sick too?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said. "Do you know if any of the other Mews are sick?"

"Pudding's sick, and I'm over trying to take care of her and keep her siblings under control until Heicha's teacher shows up," Lettuce said. "It's not easy, and I have to go, I think I'm gonna be sick." She hung up.

"Lettuce and Pudding are sick," Ichigo said. "Mint's next." She dialed Mint's number.

"What?" Mint asked. "I'm feeling awful. And Zakuro's here, and she's feeling awful."

"Everyone's sick, then," Ichigo said. "Except Keiichiro. Thanks, Mint." She heard a gulp on the other end, and then the line went dead. Then she turned to Kisshu, who was throwing up again. She was about to say something, but ended up having to grab the bucket and throw up before she could. When she and Kisshu were both done, they looked at each other. "Do you think this means someone's trying to put us out of commission?" Ichigo asked.

"What about Keiichiro?" Kisshu asked.

"He's not dangerous; if there was another invasion, he can't fight," Ichigo said. "This isn't good…"

"I'll say," Kisshu said, as he turned green again. He threw up before continuing, "If there's an attack, we're all doomed. I hate to admit it, but even I can't fight if I'm throwing up."

"Same here, and I'm sure the others know that too," Ichigo said. "I wonder if Keiichiro's thought of that? I'll call him." She picked up her phone and dialed his number. When he picked up, she said, "Keiichiro, I had an idea about why all of us are so sick."

"ALL the Mews are sick?" Keiichiro asked. "And Kisshu?"

"He's as sick as I am," Ichigo said as Kisshu threw up again. "We think that someone's trying to put us out of commission for some reason."

"You think we might be facing another attack?" Keiichiro asked.

"I can't think of any other reason for all of us to get the same sickness, at the same time, and only you aren't sick," Ichigo said. "I think the reason you're not sick is because you can't really fight the way we can."

"I'll go get on that," Keiichiro said. "And I'll try to come up with a cure for this."

"Thanks," Ichigo said, and hung up right before she got sick again. She quickly put the phone aside before she threw up.

Sakura came in as she was finishing, and said, "I was watching the news. It seems like everyone has this stomach bug! Everything's closed, including the schools, since the teachers are sick, the workers are sick- everyone's sick!"

"That's bad," Kisshu said. "We think that since everyone got sick at the same time, we might be facing some type of attack. All the Mews, as well as Pai and Taruto, are really sick."

Sakura's eyes widened.

"How's Yuka?" Ichigo asked.

"She's fine," Sakura said. "And so am I and your father."

"That's-" Kisshu threw up, then continued, "That's good. Keep Yuka out of here, I don't want her to get sick."

"Okay," Sakura said. "You both take it easy."

"Thanks, Mom," Ichigo said. Sakura smiled and left, closing the door on her way out. Kisshu was falling asleep, and Ichigo wasn't far off. Soon they were both asleep.

The next few days were the same. Ichigo and Kisshu, as well as all their friends, were still sick. Sakura had tried gingerale, and a few types of stomach medicine, none of which worked, and one of which Kisshu turned out to be allergic to, so he got even sicker. Sakura finally managed to get his fever to go away, but that didn't really help the fact that both he and Ichigo were still throwing up a LOT.

Strangely, Keiichiro, Ichigo's family, the other Mews' families, and Yuka weren't sick, even though about half of everyone in Tokyo was sick. Keiichiro was still trying to figure out what caused the sickness, and find out whether there was an attack coming. In the meantime, the Mews and Cyniclons were getting weaker. None of them could eat without being sick, and Kisshu and Ichigo could barely even keep water down. Keiichiro figured since they were the strongest, who or whatever was causing this was trying to weaken them more than the others.

Whatever the case, it was working. Ichigo couldn't sit up, and Kisshu couldn't even push himself up. Luckily they could still roll over, since they still got sick several times a day. They were talking about this one day, since they were still sleeping together.

"What are we going to do?" Ichigo asked wearily. "You and I are getting weaker and weaker from this. I can't even sense my powers anymore."

Kisshu was about to reply, but Ichigo suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth. Then she rolled over and threw up again. When she turned back, Kisshu replied, "I have no clue. My powers are going out too. If Keiichiro doesn't find a cure soon, we'll both be powerless if something comes. Have you heard from the others recently?"

"That's what puzzles me," Ichigo said. "Mint called and said she's starting to feel better, but Zakuro's still really sick. And Pudding's starting to get better, while Lettuce is actually still at her house, since she's so sick she couldn't get home without throwing up."

"I-" Kisshu barely made it to the bucket before throwing up again. When he was done, he said, "I wonder if it has anything to do with how strong they are?"

"Maybe…" Ichigo said. "But why would Pudding be getting better? For someone so small, she's dangerous."

"Beats me," Kisshu said. "If Mint's the first to get better, it's probably because she's the weakest Mew."

"Much as I hate to say it, you're right," Ichigo said. "And Zakuro's really strong, so she'll probably still be sick."

"Maybe whoever's causing this thinks that since Pudding is still a little girl, she won't be as big a threat," Kisshu suggested.

"That could be it," Ichigo said. "But if they only let the ones they think are weak get better, you and I are going to be sick a looong time."

"We'd better hope Keiichiro finds something soon," Kisshu said.

Ichigo nodded, but then threw up again. Unfortunately, her cell phone rang at that moment. Kisshu answered, and Keiichiro asked, "Where's Ichigo?"

"She's throwing up," Kisshu said. "Please tell me you have good news."

"I've got good and bad," Keiichiro said. "The good news is that I think I found a cure."

"Great," Kisshu said. "What's the bad news?"

"We're getting attacked in about two days' time," Keiichiro said gloomily. "And the cure I found doesn't work very fast. At this rate, the only ones who will be able to fight are Mint, Pudding and Taruto."

"Taruto's better?" Kisshu asked.

"He's getting there, like Mint and Pudding," Keiichiro said. "Which is more than I can say for Pai."

"He's still sick?" Kisshu asked.

"Yeah," Keiichiro said. "Will you let Mrs. Momomiya know I'll be over later? I want to give you two the medicine I created."

"Okay," Kisshu said. "See you later."

"Will do," Keiichiro said, and hung up.

Ichigo was finished, and she asked, "What's up?"

"Keiichiro thinks he found a cure, but we're apparently getting attacked in two days' time," Kisshu said grimly.

"That's BAD," Ichigo said. "I don't suppose he had any ideas on what to do?"

"Apparently Taruto's getting better, along with Mint and Pudding," Kisshu said. "They're our only hope at this point."

"Great…." Ichigo said.

"Keiichiro said he'd be by later with the c-" Kisshu broke off as he threw up.

"Okay," Ichigo said, rubbing his back.

Sakura came in a while later. "How are you two doing?" she asked.

Ichigo was throwing up again, so Kisshu answered, "Not much better. Keiichiro thinks he found a cure, though, so he said he'd be by later."

"Okay, thanks for letting me know," Sakura said. She looked at the buckets, and said, "Can you two hold out for a few? Those buckets are pretty full."

"I think so," Ichigo said as she finished. Sakura took the buckets and went to empty them. She came back and asked, "Do you need anything?"

"Water would be nice," Ichigo said faintly.

"Okay, I'll go get some," Sakura said. She left as Kisshu threw up again. Ichigo rubbed his back until he stopped.

Sakura came back with two glasses and a pitcher of water, then helped them both drink some. She put the water glasses on the tables next to the bed, and said, "I'll be back later. Try to get some rest."

"Thanks," Kisshu and Ichigo said. They were both asleep soon after.

Later that day, they were woken up by the doorbell. "I'm guessing that's Keiichiro," Kisshu said sleepily.

"Yeah, probably," Ichigo said.

They were proven correct when Sakura knocked and called, "Are you awake? Keiichiro's here!"

"We're awake," Ichigo called. Kisshu was throwing up again.

Sakura came in as Kisshu finished, followed by Keiichiro, who was holding two small bottles. "I brought the medicine I made," he said, holding up the bottles. "I tried it on Pai and Taruto, and they're feeling better already."

"Good," Ichigo said.

"You have to drink it, so I'll give it to both of you," Keiichiro said. He started to hand them the bottles, but Ichigo said, "We still can't sit up yet…."

"Okay," Keiichiro said. He handed a bottle to Sakura, who helped Ichigo drink it, while Keiichiro helped Kisshu drink the other one. When they were finished, Keiichiro took the empty bottles, and said, "Okay, the medicine takes about five hours to take effect, and I designed it to stay in your body no matter what, so if you feel sick, don't worry about the medicine not working. I'll keep you guys posted, but I have to go to the other Mews as well, so I'll see you hopefully when you're better. The medicine will stop you from throwing up once it takes effect, but you're going to have to get over the weakness on your own. You also shouldn't eat anything till tomorrow, and you can't drink anything but water for the next 24 hours." He turned to Sakura and said, "I'll give you some instructions on what to do for them, so you shouldn't need to call me unless it's an emergency."

"Okay," Sakura said. "Why don't you tell me downstairs, we can let the kids rest."

"Thanks," Ichigo and Kisshu said together.

Keiichiro smiled. "Feel better," he said, and left with Sakura.

Kisshu and Ichigo lay back and looked at each other. "I hope this helps," Ichigo said.

"Me too," Kisshu said. "Too bad it takes five hours to take effect, but at least he said throwing up won't stop it from working."

"Good, cause I'm feeling sick- AGAIN," Ichigo sighed as she turned over and threw up. Kisshu rubbed her back until she finished, and when she was done, he said, "Let's get some sleep."

Ichigo nodded and laid back. Soon she and Kisshu were asleep again.

**I know this chapter was boring, but I wanted to put in a little more before I actually get to the attack part. Review, or I won't update. I still want one more guess on who's causing this.**


	37. This Is Taking Too Long!

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 37:**

**This Is Taking Too Long!**

Ichigo and Kisshu woke up around the same time later that day. "I think the medicine's taking effect," Ichigo said. "My stomach finally settled down."

"Mine didn't," Kisshu said gloomily. "I hope it starts soon. I think I'm gonna-" He turned over, and grabbed the bucket. To Ichigo's surprise, he sat up with no trouble before throwing up into the bucket.

When he finished, Ichigo said, "Kisshu, you're sitting up."

Kisshu looked at her, startled. "Wow, I didn't even notice," he said. "I feel stronger. What about you?"

"I still can't sit up," Ichigo said. "I wonder if the medicine takes effect differently on different people. It would explain why my stomach is fine, but I can't sit up, while you can sit up, but you still feel sick."

"Wow," Kisshu said. "Maybe you're right. I wish it had worked the same for both of us, though. Even if I'm feeling stronger, it's going to be distracting in a fight if my stomach is this upset."

"Yeah, and it doesn't do me much good if I can barely move," Ichigo said. "Maybe this medicine still has some bugs to be worked out."

"Maybe," Kisshu said. "I hope my stomach goes back to normal soon, though. I'd like to be able to fight without throwing up."

"I'd like to be able to fight, period," Ichigo said. "I guess it'll take a while, though."

"And according to Keiichiro, the attack will come tomorrow," Kisshu said. He threw up again before continuing, "That's a while that we don't have. It's too bad we can't speed up the way the medicine works."

"Yeah," Ichigo said.

Sakura came in about then and said, "How are you two feeling?"

"My stomach feels fine, but I still can't sit up," Ichigo said.

"And I feel a lot stronger, but my stomach is still really upset," Kisshu said. "It's like Ichigo and I are opposites."

"That's odd, Keiichiro said the medicine worked the same on humans and Cyniclons," Sakura said.

"Weird," Ichigo said, as Kisshu swallowed hard, then threw up.

"Should I call him?" Sakura asked.

"Might be a good idea, it's not going to help if Kisshu and I can't fight," Ichigo said. Sakura nodded and left.

A while later, she came back and said, "The others are all fine, according to Keiichiro. Something's causing the medicine to work slower in you than in the others."

"Probably whoever sent this," Kisshu said. "If I get better, and I get my hands on that person, their life will be _over_."

"At this rate, we might have to sit out the fighting," Ichigo said worriedly. "That won't be good."

"The attack's tomorrow," Sakura said. "Keiichiro said he thinks the others can handle it. You two need to focus on getting better. I know it's hard, but pushing yourself in the condition you're in isn't good for you."

Ichigo and Kisshu sighed.

_**Meanwhile, with Keiichiro and the others:**_Keiichiro looked at the group assembled before him and sighed. "I just got a call from Ichigo's mother," he told them. "It's looking like we'll have to handle this without them. Ichigo's too weak to sit up, and according to Mrs. Momomiya, Kisshu's been throwing up so much that it would probably get him killed in battle. He can move, but not fight in that condition."

"What are we going to do?" Mint asked. "They're our leaders!"

"We can handle this," Keiichiro said firmly. "I'm putting Pai in charge, and I'm positive he'll do a good job. And I'll be here to pass on any new information."

"Do you know who's behind this?" Zakuro asked.

"All I know is that it's other Cyniclons," Keiichiro said. "I don't know who's leading them."

"I guess we'll have to go with that," Zakuro said. "Do you know where they are?"

"They'll reach the outskirts of Tokyo tomorrow morning," Keiichiro said. "I suggest you all sleep over here, so we can be up and ready tomorrow. My assumption is that they'll attack Café Mew Mew first, since that's where we are. But I don't know that for sure, so I'll keep tracking them."

"Good," Zakuro said. She turned to the other Mews and said, "Go call your parents and tell them we're having a sleepover at Café Mew Mew."

"Hai!" the others said, and took out their cell phones. Soon after, they were all set. Keiichiro went back to the basement with Pai to check the computers again.

_**Back with Kisshu and Ichigo: **_Ichigo sighed. She still was too weak to sit up, and was getting bored. Kisshu could get up now, but he still spent most of his time with her. Currently, however, he was in the bathroom again. He was still throwing up a lot, and it really bugged him. Despite the fact Ichigo's stomach was fine, she didn't eat much, since the smell tended to cause Kisshu to throw up. There was still a bucket in the room, since Kisshu didn't like having to run to the bathroom every time he felt sick.

Sakura was having a hard time trying to keep Yuka away from Kisshu, but she was managing. None of them wanted Yuka to get sick, and so far it was working.

Kisshu came back into the room while Ichigo was thinking. "Are you feeling any better?" he asked her.

"I still feel really weak," Ichigo said. "What about you? You were in there a while."

"My stomach was pretty upset," Kisshu replied. "I hope the both of us get better soon." He came over and sat down cross-legged on the bed next to Ichigo.

"The attack's tomorrow," Ichigo said. "I hope they'll be okay without us."

"I heard Pai's in charge now, I think they'll be fine," Kisshu said. "It's too bad we can't be there, but after being sick so long, we're probably both out of shape anyways."

"You might be right," Ichigo said. "I just wish this weakness would go away. I'm getting tired of lying in bed all day."

"Yeah, it's hard," Kisshu said. Suddenly he clutched his stomach. "Where's the bucket?" he asked.

"It should be next to you," Ichigo said.

Kisshu looked, and said, "Uh-oh. It's not there." He was looking desperate.

Ichigo looked on her side of the bed, and noticed it was there. She quickly grabbed it and handed it to Kisshu. He grabbed it and threw up. "That was too close…" he said when he was finished.

"Sorry," Ichigo said. "I wonder why the bucket was on my side?"

"There's supposed to be two in here, but Sakura insisted on cleaning them," Kisshu said. "I'm just glad she left one in here; I still can't teleport without feeling sick."

"We need to find some way of getting better," Ichigo said. "You're going to lose too much weight if this keeps up."

"It would be nice to be able to eat again," Kisshu said. "I think you're right, but what can we do? You're still too weak to heal, and I can't heal. And we can't ask Lettuce, she's going to need her strength for the attack."

Ichigo sighed. "I guess we'll have to wait it out," she said. "There aren't any other healers in our group, and stomach medicine doesn't help. Maybe if the invaders get beaten, we'll get better."

"I hope so, because if not, I don't know what we'll do," Kisshu said. "I heard that throwing up too much can cause your body to break down after a while."

Ichigo looked scared. Kisshu noticed, and said, "It wouldn't happen for a long time, so I wouldn't worry too much. And I think that usually applies to people with eating disorders, because they force themselves to throw up."

"I hope that doesn't happen," Ichigo said. "I can see that you're losing weight already. You've been throwing up a lot lately."

"Tell me about it," Kisshu said disgustedly. "And my stomach never feels good anymore. It's awful."

"At least you can move around," Ichigo said. "I can't. And I'm not eating much either."

"Why? You can eat," Kisshu said.

"It makes you sick," Ichigo said. "I don't want to make you sicker, so unless you're not around, I don't eat."

"I'm sorry," Kisshu said.

"It's not your fault," Ichigo said, surprised. "I know you can't help being sick."

"I guess," Kisshu said. "If I ever find out who made us this sick, I'm going to kill that person. Provided I stop throwing up at some point, that is."

Ichigo was about to reply, when Sakura came in and said, "It's getting late, I think you two should sleep. Keiichiro said he'd keep me posted on the attack."

"Okay," Ichigo said. "I just wish Kisshu and I could be there to help."

"I know," Sakura said. "But it's more important for you to focus on getting better."

Ichigo sighed, but didn't say any more. Sakura smiled at them and left.

"I guess we'd better get some sleep," Kisshu said. He put the bucket on the floor close to the bed, and laid back. Ichigo settled down too, and they fell asleep.

Later that night, Ichigo was woken by Kisshu, who was pretty sick again. She started rubbing his back, and waited for him to stop heaving. This time sounded pretty bad; Kisshu sounded awful. Just as he started to turn back, Ichigo heard him gulp, and then he turned back over. She continued rubbing his back soothingly as he threw up. Finally he stopped, and said, "Sorry for waking you up."

"It's fine," Ichigo said. "But that didn't sound good. How are you feeling?"

"Awful," Kisshu admitted. "I'm tired, too. Let's try to get more sleep." He laid back, and Ichigo did the same.

Kisshu woke up twice more, both times sounding awful as he threw up. He finally got to sleep around 2 AM, and managed to get through until about 7:30 before having to throw up again. Ichigo kept trying to comfort him.

When they both woke up for real, at about 9, Ichigo realized she felt stronger. She decided to try sitting up; even though she knew she couldn't walk yet, it would be nice to do something other than lie there. She tried, and had almost no problem sitting up.

Kisshu was waking up, and saw that Ichigo could sit up. "Feeling better, Koneko-chan?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I don't think I can walk yet," Ichigo said. "At least I can sit up."

"That's great!" Kisshu said. "I guess you'll be back to full strength soon."

"How are you feeling? You weren't sounding too good last night," Ichigo said in concern.

"I think I'm feeling a little better," Kisshu said. "My stomach still doesn't feel that great, but it's not nearly as bad as last night."

"Maybe you're getting better," Ichigo suggested.

"Maybe," Kisshu said. "That bucket's full, I'm going to go empty it."

"Okay," Ichigo said. Kisshu got out of bed and picked up the bucket, then left.

Sakura came in while Kisshu was in the bathroom, and said, "You can sit up? That's great!"

"Yeah," Ichigo said. "I don't think I can walk yet though."

"Well, I'm sure it'll happen soon," Sakura said. "How's Kisshu?"

"He said he was feeling a little better, but that's not saying much compared to last night," Ichigo said. "He got sick four times, and it really didn't sound good."

"Poor guy," Sakura said. "Stomach bugs are never fun. I'll go check on him." She turned, and almost ran into Kisshu, who said, "I'm fine, you don't need to check on me. But thanks."

"Okay," Sakura said. "You both take it easy. I'm going to go play with Yuka."

"K," Kisshu said. He walked back to Ichigo, and put the bucket on the floor, then sat down next to her. "Today's the attack," he said. "I hope they'll be okay."

**Will they be okay? Review, and find out. I decided to use an idea from my good friend I'm a Nerd and Proud, so you'll see it next chapter, which will focus on the others. Review!**


	38. The Attack- or Not

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 38:**

**The Attack- or Not**

_**With Keiichiro and the others: **_Everyone was up when Keiichiro and Pai ran out of the basement. "They're here! Transform!" Keiichiro said urgently.

Zakuro nodded to the others, and they all shouted out their transformations. The girls were fully transformed just in time, as teleportation sounded in the room and three Cyniclons appeared. The Mews, Pai and Taruto tensed up, taking out their weapons.

"What are you here for?" Pai asked.

"We are not here to fight," one of them said.

"What? Then why did you send that stomach illness, and why did you make all of us sick?" Pai asked. "Why should we believe you?"

"The stomach illness affected you?" the Cyniclon said. "It was only meant to get the humans out of the way so we wouldn't have to deal with them."

"Are you kidding? We spent weeks throwing up, Kisshu and Ichigo still can't fight, and you tell us that it was a MISTAKE!?" Taruto yelled. "Boy, when Kisshu gets better, you know you're going to die, right?"

"Um…" the Cyniclon said.

Keiichiro sighed. "Would you care to explain what you're doing here?"

"We were ordered to come by the General of our army's wife," the Cyniclon said. "I am Sanuka Hiroshi, and these are my brothers, Hikan and Toshirou."

The others noticed Pai and Taruto's jaws were hanging open. Finally Pai collected himself and asked, "And why did my mother do this?"

The Mews and Keiichiro's jaws hit the floor. "Your _mother_?" Zakuro asked.

"Yeah," Taruto said. "She's pretty…. um….. determined. She won't take no for an answer, and since she's part of the nobility on our planet, she often gets her way, unless Dad says no. Then she actually listens- most of the time."

"Okay, so why the stomach illness?" Pai asked.

"Like I said, she didn't want a bunch of people panicking over us coming here, so she and a few others sent an illness that would knock out the majority of Tokyo's citizens," Hiroshi said. "It wasn't supposed to affect any of you."

"She is never getting another phone call from us," Taruto said. "So what's the urgency?"

Hiroshi looked a bit embarrassed as he said, "She's looking for her adoptive daughter, Ikisatashi Yuka. Yuka disappeared a few weeks ago, and her adoptive parents are frantic. Do you know where she is?"

"That kid is in sooo much trouble," Pai said. "She's living with Kisshu and the family that adopted him. She didn't tell anyone she was leaving?"

"No, and we questioned all her friends," Toshirou spoke up. "No one knew where she was. We just woke up one morning and she was gone. How'd she get here?"

"She teleported," Taruto said. The three Cyniclons' jaws dropped.

"And she's still _alive_?" Hiroshi asked in shock.

"Ichigo and Lettuce healed her," Pai said. "Those two are the best healers I've ever seen, and they become more amazing when they combine their powers."

"Yeah, Pai got Toru Fever about two weeks ago, before the stomach illness came, and they cured him like it was nothing," Taruto said. "And Kisshu got it too, and Ichigo healed him in like ten minutes."

Now the three Cyniclons were speechless. "Pai had _Toru Fever _and they cured him!?" Hikan asked. "How is that even possible?"

Lettuce cleared her throat nervously and said, "Toru Fever sounded like a human disease called tuberculosis, so Ichigo-san and I focused on healing that, not figuring out how to cure Toru Fever."

"Y-you two must be really powerful…." Toshirou said.

"So back to Yuka," Keiichiro said. "I hope you don't mind telling her adoptive mother that there's no way she's going back."

"She'll kill us!" Hiroshi moaned. "Why did Yuka have to leave?"

"She claims she was sick of hearing people bad-mouth us," Taruto said. "So she teleported to Earth, and Ichigo's family adopted her."

"Humans adopted a Cyniclon?" Hikan asked.

"Well, they already took in Kisshu, they weren't going to turn out his five-year-old sister," Taruto said. "They're really nice people."

"What are we going to do?" Toshirou asked. "We have to tell Ikisatashi-sama something."

"Call her and I'll talk to her," Pai said.

"Good idea," Hiroshi said. He took out a cell phone-like device, and typed something into it. Then he handed it to Pai.

Pai waited as the phone rang, and finally got a response. _"You'd better have good news!" _a woman's voice said. Pai sighed and said, "Mother, you are lucky Kisshu isn't here, because he'd be yelling your ear off. WHY did you send a plague to Tokyo?"

"_Pai?" _the woman said. _"Why do you have Hiroshi's cell phone?"_

"He gave it to me to call you with," Pai said. "Honestly, why did you send a plague? We've all been sick for weeks. And Kisshu and Mew Ichigo are still sick. If you had to find Yuka, why didn't you just give us a call?"

"_The thing I sent wasn't supposed to affect you," _Pai's mother said. _"You're saying I made a mistake?"_

"YES! We've all been throwing up for two weeks, and Kisshu and Ichigo STILL haven't recovered!" Pai shouted. "We thought your leader had decided to attack Earth again! Why the _hell _didn't you just call and say, "Hey, have you seen Yuka?" And for your information, Kisshu's sworn to kill the person who made us all sick, so you'd better watch out!"

There was silence on the end of the line for a minute, then Pai's mother said, _"I'm sorry, Pai, I had no idea. Can you at least tell me where Yuka is? Then I'll go and get the antidote."_

"After all you've put us through, I really shouldn't," Pai growled. "But Yuka was adopted by Mew Ichigo's family, who also adopted Kisshu after we were exiled. She's fine, and there's no way she'll be coming back. She's too attached to Kisshu. You can't separate them again."

Pai's mother sighed. _"Fine… I'll be over in a few hours with the antidote," _she said. _"I don't suppose you could inform Kisshu that this was a mistake?"_

"Hell no," Pai said. "He'd kill you, then me, then you again. And then he'd probably start ranting about 'meddling parents', and we'd never get him calmed down again. You get to tell him what happened, and hope that Ichigo can keep him from murdering you."

"_Great…" _Pai's mother said. _"Let whoever else is there know that I'll be there in three hours."_

"Fine," Pai growled, and hung up. He tossed the phone back to Hiroshi, who caught it. "Mother will be here in three hours," he informed the others. "She has the antidote to the stomach illness she sent."

"I'll call Mrs. Momomiya," Keiichiro said. "She needs to know that there's a way to help Kisshu and Ichigo." He left to get the phone.

The others sighed and sat down to wait.

_**With Kisshu and Ichigo: **_Ichigo sighed for at least the fifteenth time that day. "I hate this," she muttered. She could sit up, but not walk yet. Kisshu was in the bathroom again, so she had no one to talk to.

Sakura suddenly ran in and said, "Keiichiro just called with some news. Where's Kisshu?"

"The bathroom again," Ichigo said. "Is everyone okay?"

"Hai," Sakura said. "It turns out the three Cyniclons who came here weren't here to attack, they're just looking for Yuka!"

"WHAT!?" Ichigo shouted. "And the stomach bug?"

"It wasn't supposed to affect anyone who wasn't human," Sakura said. "It was sent by Pai's mother, who didn't want the population of Tokyo to freak when the three she sent came looking for Yuka."

"_Aunt Mika _sent this!?" Kisshu shouted from behind Sakura. "She is sooo going to die!"

"Um…. Is that really a good idea?" Sakura asked.

"YES!" Kisshu and Ichigo shouted together.

Sakura sighed. "I think I'll let you two cool off, Pai's mother is coming by later with the antidote," she said. "Please try not to kill her, I don't want blood on the tatami mats."

Kisshu sighed. "Fine, I'll kill her somewhere else," he grumbled.

Sakura sighed and left, closing the door behind her. Kisshu was still scowling. "I'm seriously going to kill her," he grumbled. "She's doomed."

"If she apologizes, will it help?" Ichigo asked.

"No," Kisshu said bluntly. "You and I haven't been able to do anything for nearly three weeks. And the whole city's basically shut down."

"You're probably right," Ichigo said. "Are you feeling at all better?"

"I think-" Kisshu broke off, clutching his stomach again. Ichigo quickly handed him the bucket right before he threw up again. When he finished, he said, "I think shouting wasn't too good for me. I feel pretty awful again."

"I hope the antidote actually helps," Ichigo said.

Kisshu sighed. "It should, but that doesn't mean I won't kill Aunt Mika."

Ichigo replied, "I guess I shouldn't bother trying stop you."

"Nope," Kisshu said.

_**Back at Café Mew Mew, about two and a half hours later: **_Everyone was sitting around, waiting for Mika.

Finally teleportation sounded in the room, and a middle-aged Cyniclon woman appeared in the room. She looked similar to Pai, but had Taruto's orange eyes. She was dressed in a simple green sundress, and was holding a bag in one hand. She also looked rather nervous, since everyone in the room, except Keiichiro, Hiroshi, Toshirou and Hikan was glaring at her. "Okay, I _know _you're all unhappy with me, but I did bring the antidote," she said.

"'Unhappy' is a grave understatement, Mother," Pai said in a cold tone of voice. Lettuce put a hand on his arm and said, "Pai, let's see if we can help Kisshu and Ichigo first. Then you can take out your feelings."

Pai sighed and said, "You're right, Lettuce-chan." He turned to Mika and said, "I informed Mrs. Momomiya that we'd be coming, so I think we should go now. I should warn you, though, she called me and said that Kisshu is planning on killing you, and Ichigo is refusing to stop him."

"Great…" Mika said. "Couldn't I just give you the antidote and go home?"

"NO! I don't want to die," Pai said. "And after what you put us through, I frankly think you should at least face Kisshu and Ichigo. I'll bring Lettuce-chan too, she's good at calming people down."

"Fine…" Mika said. "Let's go, then."

Pai nodded, and Lettuce stood up. He took her hand and Mika's, then teleported to the Momomiya's living room.

Shintaro was the only one in there, and he looked up. "Hi Pai, hi Lettuce," he said. "Who's this?"

"You don't want to know," Pai said. "Where's Mrs. Momomiya?"

"Playing with Yuka," Shintaro said. "And Ichigo and Kisshu are upstairs. Ichigo still can't walk, and Kisshu's pretty angry. And I don't think Ichigo's trying to calm him down."

"I was afraid of that," Pai said. "I'll just let Kisshu know that he can't fight in the house. I'm sure he'll understand."

"He'd better," Shintaro said, and went back to his book. Pai sighed and led the way upstairs.

They reached Kisshu's room, and Pai knocked. "Come in!" Ichigo's voice said.

Pai opened the door, and Ichigo looked up. She did NOT look happy. Pai got nervous and asked, "Where's Kisshu?"

"The bathroom again," Ichigo said. "At least he can walk. I can't."

"Well, at least you don't have the stomach thing anymore," Pai said. "I brought my mother, will you let her see if she can help?"

Ichigo sighed and said, "Fine, but I wasn't able to convince Kisshu not to kill her, so don't expect that anything you do will stop him."

Mika gulped slightly and walked over to the bed. "Lie back," she told Ichigo. Ichigo obeyed, and Mika put a hand on her chest. "I have the medicine you need," she said after a minute. "You have to swallow it whole." She turned back to Pai and said, "Go get a glass of water."

Pai sighed and left, coming back a few minutes later with the water, which he handed to Mika. She took it and gave it and a small pill to Ichigo. "Swallow that, it'll help you," she said.

Ichigo swallowed the pill, and drank the rest of the water. "The medicine should take effect in about an hour," Mika told Ichigo. "I'd suggest getting some rest, it won't work if you're awake."

"Okay…." Ichigo said. "Thank you."

Surprised, Mika said, "Sure."

Ichigo laid back down, and was sound asleep soon after.

**Next chapter, both Kisshu and Ichigo get better! But what's going to happen to Mika? I wonder…. Review!**


	39. Mika's Apology

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 39:**

**Mika's Apology**

Soon after Ichigo fell asleep, Pai and Mika heard a door open, and turned. Kisshu was coming toward them, and he looked MAD.

"Before you start shouting, Ichigo's asleep," Pai told Kisshu. "She needs to rest for the medicine Mother gave her to work."

Kisshu sighed and glared at Mika, who looked nervous. Pai sighed and said, "If you kill her, there's not much of a chance of you recovering. And Mr. Momomiya said you can't fight in the house."

Kisshu sighed. "Fine, I won't kill her- yet."

Mika said nervously, "Can I give you the medicine?"

"Fine," Kisshu said. He followed her into his room, and noticed Ichigo sleeping. He walked over to the bed, but before he could sit down, he realized he was feeling sick again. Then he noticed the bucket on his side was gone. He clapped a hand over his mouth, as he started to feel sicker. Pai noticed, and said, "What happened to the bucket?" Kisshu's eyes widened. He knew he couldn't hold out much longer.

Mika noticed the bucket was by the door, and grabbed it, then handed it to Kisshu. He grabbed it and set it down, then dropped to his knees and doubled up as he threw up.

Mika knelt next to him and started rubbing his back, since he was really too sick right now to care. She felt bad that she was the cause of this.

Nearly ten minutes later, Kisshu was still coughing up stuff. This was the worst bout yet. Kisshu just couldn't stop, and Pai and Mika were worried. However, Kisshu stopped a minute later- and collapsed. Mika put a hand on his forehead, and sighed. "He doesn't have a fever, I think he's just exhausted."

"Can you do anything?" Pai asked. "If he keeps that up, his body will break down. He's been throwing up for nearly three weeks."

Mika put a hand on Kisshu's chest and closed her eyes. Suddenly her eyes shot open. "This illness has taken a serious toll on his body, I'm not sure what to do!" Mika said.

"We have to do something," Pai said. "Can you sense how much power Ichigo has right now?"

Mika went to Ichigo and put a hand on her chest, then said, "She's back to full strength. What are you thinking?"

"Wake her up, I'm getting Lettuce," Pai said. "If they combine their powers, it should be able to completely cure him."

Mika tapped Ichigo's forehead, and she woke up as Pai teleported to Lettuce. "What's going on?" Ichigo asked.

"Kisshu's in bad shape, and Pai said you need to combine your power with Lettuces'," Mika said.

Pai teleported back in with Lettuce, and said, "Are you both ready?"

"Hai," Ichigo and Lettuce said, and went to Kisshu. They clasped hands and put their right hands on Kisshu's chest. Both began to glow, and the glows flowed into Kisshu. Finally the glows faded, but Kisshu didn't wake up. Ichigo put both her hands over his heart as Lettuce backed up. "He'll be feeling better when he wakes up, but I'm not sure when that'll be," Ichigo said. "We couldn't completely heal his exhaustion."

Pai looked worried, but came over and picked Kisshu up. "He's lost a lot of weight," he commented.

"What did you expect? He hasn't eaten in nearly a month, and he's been throwing up every day," Ichigo said.

Pai tucked Kisshu into the bed, and said, "We should be here till he wakes up. And yes, that includes you too, Mother."

"Fine…" Mika said.

There was a knock on the door, and Ichigo opened it. Sakura came in and said, "How's Kisshu?"

"Not so good, but Ichigo and Lettuce just healed him," Pai said. "He needs to rest."

"I take it that means another day of trying to keep Yuka occupied?" Sakura asked.

"She shouldn't wake Kisshu up, so yes," Ichigo said. "Has she been troublesome lately?"

"You have no idea," Sakura sighed. "And it only got worse when Kisshu was strong enough to walk."

"Can I see her?" Mika asked.

"NO!" Pai and Ichigo shouted.

Sakura looked startled. "Who's this, and why can't she see Yuka?" she asked.

"This is my mother, Ikisatashi Mika, and she can't see Yuka because she's responsible for the stomach bug," Pai growled. "The only reason she's still here is because she needs to apologize to Kisshu."

To everyone's surprise, Sakura started looking angry. _"You're _the reason my kids have been this sick!?" she screamed.

"Uh-oh," Ichigo whispered to Pai. "My mom _never _gets angry. Stay quiet, she'll go berserk on you too if you say anything."

Pai nodded, and went back to watching Kisshu, as did Ichigo.

Meanwhile, Mika was getting nervous, as Sakura screamed, "I take care of your kids, and this is how you repay me!? By getting them so sick they can't move for weeks? Are you seriously fit to be a mother!?"

"Um…. It was actually a mistake…" Mika said timidly.

"That just makes it WORSE!" Sakura shouted. "You should have just called Pai if you were worried about Yuka being on Earth! You knew we all lived in Tokyo, you didn't have to send people to find her! Why the HELL didn't you just call Pai!?"

Mika sighed. "I have no excuse," she said sadly. "I'm well aware that I should never have done what I did, and I really am sorry. I know none of you will forgive me, so I'll go away after I apologize to Kisshu. Provided he doesn't kill me first, that is."

Sakura glared at her, then turned on her heel and left, slamming the door behind her.

"Yikes," Ichigo said. "I've never seen Mom that mad before."

"It does make sense, though," Pai said. "She's been really worried about you and Kisshu, I could tell when I talked to her."

Mika sighed. "I think everyone hates me," she said.

"With good reason," Pai snapped.

Lettuce sighed. "Can we stop fighting?" she asked. "I think we should quiet down and let Kisshu rest. Though I'm amazed he slept through Mrs. Momomiya shouting."

"You're right," Ichigo said. "Let's just wait for Kisshu to wake up."

_**Five hours later: **_Kisshu was still unconscious, and it was getting late. Pai and Lettuce were starting to get tired, but Ichigo and Mika showed no signs of being tired.

_**Two more hours later: **_Ichigo and Mika were the only ones awake. Sakura had come in a while ago to let them know that she and Shintaro were going to bed. Lettuce and Pai had fallen asleep about an hour ago, but Ichigo and Mika didn't even look tired. They remained quiet, simply waiting for Kisshu to wake up.

Finally, at about 2 AM, Kisshu stirred, instantly alerting Ichigo and Mika, who were _still _awake. "Kisshu?" Ichigo asked softly.

Kisshu turned his head in the direction of her voice. "Ichigo?" he asked. "You're okay?"

"Yes, of course," Ichigo said. "How are you feeling?"

"My stomach doesn't feel awful anymore," Kisshu said. "I'm feeling kind of shaky, though. What happened? The last thing I remember is feeling like I couldn't stop throwing up."

"Lettuce and I healed you after you collapsed," Ichigo said. "You were in pretty bad shape from throwing up so much."

"I feel a lot better now," Kisshu said. "What time is it? It's pretty dark."

"Almost 2:30," Ichigo said. "Everyone but me and Mika is asleep."

"Aunt Mika is _still _here?" Kisshu asked.

"I was worried about you," Mika said softly. "It's my fault you got so sick."

"Why were you worried, then?" Kisshu asked in an almost sulky tone of voice.

"Because I didn't mean to hurt you!" Mika cried. "I really care about both you and Yuka, and I would never intentionally hurt you!"

"Mmph," Kisshu said.

"Are you still planning on killing me?" Mika asked.

"Depends on what you decide to do next," Kisshu said. "I'm not letting you take Yuka away, and if you ever interfere in our lives or send some other weird plague to Tokyo, you ARE going to die. I'd rather not have Cyniclonia declare war on Earth because you died here, so IF you agree to the things I just said, I _guess _you can live. But if any of us ever hear from you again, I'm personally going to kill you, got it?"

"I understand, and as long as you and Yuka are happy, I will be too," Mika said. "I guess I should get going now?"

"Yes," Kisshu said. Then he sighed. "I suppose I should thank you for curing Ichigo, so thanks."

"You're welcome. Goodbye," Mika said. She teleported out.

"I'm going soft," Kisshu complained when she was gone.

"Well, Mom did say she didn't want blood on the tatami mats, so maybe this is for the best," Ichigo said. Then she yawned. "Man, I'm tired," she said. "Can I sleep with you?"

"Sure, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said, moving over. Ichigo climbed onto the bed and curled up against him. Soon she was asleep. Kisshu lay awake a while longer, but eventually drifted off too.

**Okay, I KNOW it was anticlimactic when Kisshu didn't kill Mika, but I didn't really want to kill her, so… yeah. Anyways, I've got a question. Do people want more, or should I do the usual timeskip thing? Review and tell me. If you want more, please give me ideas, and I'll try to use them. Thanks!**


	40. The Next Day

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 40:**

**The Next Day**

The next morning, Ichigo and Kisshu woke up around the same time, and noticed that Pai and Lettuce were still sleeping in the chairs they had fallen asleep in last night. "Kisshu, how are you feeling?" Ichigo said.

"I feel a lot better, and my stomach feels fine," Kisshu said. "I'm still feeling shaky, though. What about you?"

"I'm fine," Ichigo said. "I'm glad you're feeling better; you were in really bad shape last night. You were right about the fact that throwing up too much causes your body to break down; if Lettuce and I hadn't gotten there as quickly as we did, you'd be in a lot worse shape right now. We weren't able to completely heal you, so you might need to take things slow for a while."

Kisshu sighed. "I hate taking things slow," he said.

"I know," Ichigo said. "I'll help you get through this, and it shouldn't take very long this time."

Kisshu sighed again and sat up. Ichigo sat up too, and they looked over at Pai and Lettuce. "Should we wake them up?" Ichigo asked.

"No, let them sleep," Kisshu said.

Ichigo nodded and got up. Kisshu stood up, but he was looking pretty shaky. Ichigo noticed and came over just in time, since his legs were still too weak to hold him. She caught him as he fell forward, and helped him sit back down. "I guess you're right," Kisshu said. "I _am _going to have to take things slowly."

"You'll recover," Ichigo said. "You should be back to full strength in a few days. Are you at all hungry?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah, I'm starving," Kisshu said.

"I'll go ask my mom if you can have something to eat," Ichigo said. "You probably can't eat anything too heavy right away."

"Okay," Kisshu said.

Ichigo smiled and left the room. She went across to Yuka's room, and found that no one was there. She went down to the kitchen, and found her mom there. "Morning, Mom," Ichigo said.

Sakura spun and said, "You're up!"

"Yeah, the medicine worked," Ichigo said. "Kisshu's hungry, what should I give him?"

"I'll make some broth, he shouldn't be eating anything too heavy," Sakura said. "Is he coming?"

"After last night, he can't really walk yet," Ichigo said. "He was in really bad shape, and it took a lot of power to make sure he'd actually survive. Lettuce and I couldn't completely heal him, so he needs to take it easy for a while longer."

"Did he kill Mika?" Sakura asked.

"No, he let her live on the condition she never interferes in our lives or sends anymore weird plagues to Tokyo," Ichigo said. "He says he's going soft, but frankly, I don't think he could have killed her in the state he's in right now."

Sakura sighed. "I imagine that's for the best."

"I've never seen you get that mad at anyone," Ichigo commented.

"I've never been that mad in my entire life," Sakura admitted. "I kind of scared myself, and I think I scared Yuka too. It's just that I saw you and Kisshu just withering away, and when Pai said Mika was responsible, I just lost it."

"I can't believe Kisshu slept through that," Ichigo said. "Did it make you feel better?"

"No," Sakura admitted. "The only thing that would have made me feel better at that point would be knowing that you and Kisshu were going to be okay. I was really worried about both of you."

"Well, we're better now," Ichigo said. "I'm back to full strength, and Kisshu should be there in a few days."

Sakura hugged her tightly for a few minutes, then said, "I'll make some broth for Kisshu. You should go see your dad, he's been really worried too."

"Okay," Ichigo said, smiling. She left the kitchen, and went to the living room, where she found Shintaro reading the paper. He looked up as she came in, and jumped up, then came over and hugged her tightly, until she said, "Dad… can't… breathe…"

Shintaro let go and said, "Sorry, I've been really worried about the two of you. Where's Kisshu?"

"I never thought I'd live to see the day you'd worry about my boyfriend," Ichigo said with a grin. Her smile faded a bit as she said, "Lettuce and I couldn't completely heal him, so he's going to have to take it easy for a while. He can't really walk yet, so he's still upstairs. Mom's making him some broth, he finally got hungry."

"I'm glad you're both alright," Shintaro said. "I've been really worried."

"Thanks Dad," Ichigo said. "I'm going back to Kisshu, I want to make sure he hasn't done anything weird to Lettuce and Pai, they're still asleep."

"They slept over?" Shintaro asked.

"More like fell asleep watching Kisshu," Ichigo said. "It was 2 AM when he woke up after collapsing and Lettuce and I healing him."

"Wow," Shintaro said. "Mind if I come?"

"Sure," Ichigo said. "Hey, where's Yuka?"

"I think she was sleeping over at Pudding's," Shintaro said. "Pudding and Taruto invited her after your mom went berserk on Mika, and she accepted. I think she got scared when your mom started slamming pots around."

"That was pretty scary," Ichigo agreed. "Let's go see Kisshu."

Shintaro followed her upstairs, and to Kisshu's room. Kisshu was sitting on the bed, and Lettuce and Pai were glaring at him. When Kisshu saw Ichigo and Shintaro, his jaw dropped.

"What?" Shintaro asked.

"Um… I thought you didn't like me," Kisshu said.

Shintaro started to look a little nervous and didn't reply. Ichigo smirked and said, "Actually, Dad said he was really worried about you. I guess hating you was an act, huh Dad?"

Shintaro looked uncomfortable and said, "Um… pretty much, yeah."

Kisshu looked shocked. Seeing that he was speechless, Ichigo said, "So Dad, does this little confession mean Kisshu and I can sleep together?"

"I'll think about it," Shintaro said, and left, looking highly embarrassed.

Ichigo looked over at Kisshu, who was still speechless, and started laughing.

Pai sighed and said, "Before you get too worked up, would you tell Kisshu that he HAS to delete that photo?"

"What photo?" Ichigo asked, going over to Kisshu. Kisshu snapped out of shock and smirked, then showed her a picture on a digital camera, of Pai and Lettuce sleeping next to each other, Lettuce's head on Pai's shoulder. "Why delete it? It's so cute!" Ichigo said.

"I told you she'd say that," Lettuce sighed.

"Kisshu, if you post that anywhere, Internet or otherwise, you WILL die, got it?" Pai asked.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Pai," Kisshu said, obviously not listening.

Pai growled, and started to lunge at Kisshu. Ichigo grabbed his arm, and said, "Can you at least wait until Kisshu can defend himself before attacking?"

"I thought you healed him," Pai said grumpily.

"We did, but we couldn't completely heal his weakness," Lettuce said. "It was pretty severe this time."

Pai sighed and settled back into his chair. Sakura came in a few minutes later and said, "Kisshu, I've got some broth for you, you shouldn't eat anything too heavy yet."

"Thanks, Sakura," Kisshu said. He took the bowl from her and started drinking it. When he was finished, he said, "Wow, I can't believe how much I missed eating."

"You haven't been able to in about a month, so I'm not surprised," Sakura said, taking the bowl back.

"It's been that long?" Kisshu asked.

"Now do you understand why everyone, even Shintaro, was worried?" Sakura asked.

"I guess, but the fact that Shintaro was worried about me is still pretty shocking," Kisshu said. "And then he said he'd think about me and Ichigo sleeping together when we're not sick!"

Sakura giggled. "He just needed some time to adjust," she said. "Once he gets used to someone near Ichigo, he treats that person fine. It just takes him a while to warm up to people."

"Wow," Kisshu said. "Can I have more broth?"

"Sure," Sakura said. "But that's it for a while, you shouldn't eat or drink too much right away."

Kisshu sighed, but said, "Thanks."

Sakura smiled and left, returning a few minutes later with more broth. Kisshu drank it, and said, "Thanks, Sakura."

"Sure," Sakura said with a smile. "I'll take the bowl back downstairs." Kisshu handed it to her, and she left.

Pai sighed and said, "I'm going to go tell Keiichiro that you're starting to get better, Kisshu."

"Okay, thanks Pai," Kisshu said.

Pai nodded and teleported off with Lettuce. "What do you want to do now, Kisshu?" Ichigo asked.

"I don't know, since I can't go anywhere," Kisshu said. "Where's Yuka?"

"Dad said Pudding invited her and Taruto over for a sleepover," Ichigo said. "I think my mom kind of scared her."

"Why?" Kisshu asked.

"Oh right, you were sleeping," Ichigo said. "Pai told Mom that Mika was responsible for the stomach bug, and she literally went berserk. I've NEVER seen her that mad. Frankly, I can't believe you slept through that."

"Wow," Kisshu said. "I've never seen her mad at all."

"Yeah, she doesn't usually have a temper," Ichigo said. "She told me this morning that she actually scared herself when she went berserk on Mika."

"It's too bad I missed that," Kisshu said.

"I think it would have scared you, too," Ichigo said. "Even Pai was looking nervous when my mom started screaming."

Kisshu was about to reply, when Sakura came in and said, "Yuka's home, and she wants to see you, is that okay?"

"Sure," Kisshu said. Sakura smiled and went out of the room. A few minutes later she came back with Yuka, who immediately threw herself at Kisshu, knocking him backwards. "Oniichan! You're better!" she cried, doing a pretty good imitation of Pudding glomping Taruto. Unlike Taruto, Kisshu hugged back tightly. Ichigo and Sakura smiled softly, watching them.

Finally Kisshu and Yuka broke apart, and Yuka said, "Oniichan, I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Thanks Yuka," Kisshu said with a smile. "Have you been good while I've been sick?"

"I tried," Yuka said. "Aunt Sakura was fun. But I really missed you."

"I'm sorry," Kisshu said. "I didn't want you to get sick."

"That's okay, all that matters is that you're better," Yuka said. "Can we go play?"

"It has to be something in here," Kisshu said. "I still can't walk."

"I might be able to help," Ichigo said. "Kisshu, lie back down. Yuka, I need you to let go, okay?"

"Okay," Yuka said reluctantly. She slid off the bed as Ichigo laid her hands on Kisshu's chest, and began to glow. The glow was brighter than usual, and it lasted a few minutes before fading into Kisshu's body. Ichigo took her hands away, and asked, "How does that feel?"

"I feel stronger, thanks Koneko-chan," Kisshu said. He put his feet on the floor, and had no trouble standing up. He wasn't shaky anymore either.

"Can we play?" Yuka asked eagerly.

"Can I take a shower first?" Kisshu asked. Yuka pouted, but nodded. Kisshu ruffled her hair and gathered up some clothes, then left.

Yuka sighed and said, "Ichigo-oneechan, can you play with me?"

"Sure Yuka, what do you want to play?" Ichigo asked.

"House!" Yuka said. "That way Oniichan can play when he's done."

"Okay," Ichigo said with a smile. She followed Yuka to her room, and sat down on the floor as Yuka started getting out toys.

**Okay, another horrendous chapter ending. I think there will be one more chapter, and then the timeskip thing. Plz Review!**


	41. Timeskip: 8 Years Later

**Ichigo's Illness Chapter 41:**

**Timeskip: 8 Years Later**

It had been eight years since the stomach plague hit Tokyo, and everything was back to normal. Ichigo and Kisshu had graduated high school three years ago, and had started a cat adoption center. They were now married, and Ichigo was expecting a baby girl in the spring.

After finding out Ichigo and Kisshu's secret, Moe and Miwa continued to protect them from anyone who might have found out. They were now working together as fashion designers, and remained good friends with Ichigo and Kisshu.

The principal had managed to keep Mrs. Aoyama quiet by telling her that the Kisshu in Masaya's diary wasn't the one going to his school, and that Ichigo was not Mew Ichigo. Luckily, she believed him.

Pai and Lettuce were also married, and had opened a small bookshop and café. Though they didn't have a lot of spare time, Pai and Lettuce also kept a flower garden at their house, and worked on it whenever they could. Pai had finally learned to smile and show emotion, and Lettuce was much more confident.

Keiichiro and Zakuro had gotten together, and Keiichiro now worked full time in Lettuce and Pai's café as the chef, since he had had to close down Café Mew Mew after Ryou's death. Zakuro was still in the modeling business, and had also taken up charity work with the money she made.

Mint had become a professional ballerina, and she performed in ballets all over Japan. She had met a boy after high school named Kyou, and they were engaged to be married the coming summer.

Pudding and Taruto had moved in together after Café Mew Mew closed. Pudding's dad had come back from China to spend more time with his children, and after seeing how attached all his children were to Taruto (and saving him from being smothered a few times), Mr. Fong had decided to call off the marriage agreement between Pudding and Ron Yuebin. Pudding and Taruto were both seventeen years old now, and thinking about starting a martial arts school after high school. They were still arguing about whether it should be called 'Sign of the Monkey' (Taruto's choice), or 'Saru no Kin' (Pudding's choice). Pudding still called Taruto 'Taru-Taru', and they were both still pretty hyper and obsessed with candy.

There had been no more contact from Mika, which was really for the best, considering Kisshu's hatred for her.

Yuka had just turned thirteen, and had started middle school. She still lived with Sakura and Shintaro, and remained extremely close to Kisshu and Ichigo, who visited often.

Sakura and Shintaro remained the same, taking care of Yuka, and supporting Ichigo and Kisshu. Shintaro had gotten over his overprotectiveness after Ichigo and Kisshu recovered from the stomach bug, and treated Kisshu like his son from then on, which Kisshu took some time to get used to.

Pai had figured out how to permanently change the Cyniclons' ears, so the pills were a thing of the past.

It couldn't have worked out better.

**Okay, I lied. I couldn't think of a last chapter, so I did the timeskip thing. I know it's short, and probably corny, but I thought it would be nice to establish the fact that this is it for Ichigo's Illness. I hope you all enjoyed it, and I really appreciate the reviews, favs, and follows. Thanks!**


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